Daughter of an Angel
by AbyssKeeper
Summary: Growing up in the Midgar slums, adopted by the SOLDIER legend, carrier of the Jenova legacy, and surrounded by enemies. Claire 'Lightning' Farron is alone and losing control.
1. Chapter 1

Claire Farron, twelve, and Serah Farron, ten, were inseparable sisters. They had to be if they were to survive the sector six slums on their own. Claire and Serah had become excellent con-artists, pick pockets, thieves and were proud of it. For six years they lived and survived by trusting no one except each other.

They still had to be careful even though they knew the slums like the back of their hands and how to get food or Gil will little effort. There were the usual hazards of disease carrying rats, highly contagious diseases, other thieves, muggers, killers, and rapists. However, sector six had one thing that the other sectors did not have and were happy they did not, Don Corneo.

Don Corneo was the guy who ran the slums in sector six. He had the most money in all the slums because of his 'special' inn. He controlled sector six by having control over the prostitutes. Also being Shinra's informant kept the Shinra from taking him to prison.

Claire and Serah had only begun having to avoid Corneo's lackeys. Claire was just beginning to 'develop' and that was enough for the Don, as the other people called him. Everyone in the slums, and probably in Shinra, knew the Don was a paedophilic rapist but no one was allowed to do anything about it because he was Shinra's connection in the slums.

Serah was constantly bugging Claire about going to sector seven or five but Claire knew that was never possible. The Don had men at every entrance/exit of the sector making sure that none of 'his' current or future girls were trying to run off. The road was also infested with all sorts of creatures that only soldiers or SOLDIER members could kill.

* * *

After a long day of coning the ignorant and stealing while the other distracts, the Farron sisters settled into their shelter made from scrap metal. They laughed about the events of the day and counted how much Gil they had pilfered.

"So how much, sis?" Serah asked her elder sibling.

"Seventeen Gil today," Claire said before grabbing her money pouch and pouring it out to count the total.

"How much now?" Serah asked after Claire finished counting.

"A hundred," Claire replied. She knew there was more but could not count that high because of being orphaned before learning what came after one hundred.

Claire tucked the pouch into the oversized coat she was wearing and lay down to sleep. Serah snuggled up to her so they could keep warm through the assumed night. Night and day had no meaning under the plate of Midgar, under what they used to live on. The memory of how their life came to be like this haunted Claire every 'night' since it happened.

* * *

News of Wutai soldiers getting inside Midgar had spread like wildfire. All Midgar citizens were ordered to stay in their homes and all executives had to stay in the Shinra building until Shinra announced that it was safe.

The two Farron girls and their babysitter were worried about Mr. Farron, head of Urban Development, and Mrs. Farron, one of the president's secretaries. Serah and Claire had fallen asleep on their couch and their babysitter remained awake watching the news and hoping that the Farron parents would be okay.

The next morning was when the bad news arrived. The news had said that warning was no longer in effect and there was an explosion in the president's office. All but two of the executives and the two secretaries had been killed either in or because of the explosion. The survivors of the attack were the president, Palmer, and Heidegger. When Claire heard the news she started crying and Serah didn't because she was too young to understand.

Every 'day' Claire woke up crying at the memory and her mind forced the rest of the memory forward. Shinra had given the assistants of the deceased executives their jobs and completely ignored all those affected by the deaths. Shinra repossessed the Farron house as soon as they learned that both Farron parents had died and sent the girls to the slums. The Shinra had sent the Farron sisters to die, but the sisters did not know that or that it was the Shinra that had sent them.

* * *

Once again Claire woke up crying. She let the tears fall until Serah began to stir. Claire wiped the tears off her face and greeted Serah when she opened her eyes. They both got up and began their 'trip' into the 'town' of wall market for their monthly actual meal.

Even though Don Corneo and his inn, were located in the wall market it was easy to avoid being 'picked' up. There were thousands of places for children to hide and the people of the 'town' would defend them if the need arose.

As the sisters walked towards the small restaurant in the center of the market they noticed three soldiers. They were wearing the outfits of SOLDIER but the uniforms were black. Claire and Serah were used to seeing the blue and purple versions but had never seen a black version and wondered what it meant. Claire quickly took some mental notes on them.

They had black clothing, one with black hair and a massive sword on his back, one with reddish-brown hair and sword on his left hip, the last had silver hair that hung to his waist where a Wutaian sword rested on his right side. Claire knew that those soldiers were loaded with Gil but impossible to rob, con, or even get them to give some pity money.

Claire got a feeling that told her she was going to see them again that day.

* * *

"What're you starring at Sef?" The dark haired soldier asked the silver haired soldier.

"That child over there," The silver haired soldier said sounding confused "My gut is telling me to keep an eye on that one today."

"That's just your hero instinct," The raven haired soldier replied with a laugh while trying to figure out which child his friend was talking about.

* * *

After a hot and fresh meal, from the only restaurant in sector six, the sisters set off for their shelter. They arrived at the sight of their 'house' being ransacked by Corneo's men. Claire and Serah quickly turned away and continued in a different direction.

Claire heard one of the men shout and three sets of running feet a moment later. The sisters broke into a sprint to get away from the Don's recruiters. They flew around a corner and almost ran straight into one of the three people wearing the black uniform. Claire quickly noted that there were only two of the three soldiers; the silver haired soldier was missing.

"Watch out you little rats!" The auburn haired man shouted at them. The sisters quickly recovered and continued on their escape.

* * *

The silver haired man stepped out from behind the pile of junk he had stopped behind for short break. Before he could speak three men rounded the corner and almost knocked the three soldiers down.

"What was that?" The silver haired soldier asked the other two.

"Corneo's men," The black haired soldier replied.

"They were chasing two pink haired slum rats," The auburn haired soldier added with a dismissive tone.

"Why didn't you stop them!" The silver haired soldier shouted before sprinting after the men.

"What? What do you mean? Where are you going? Sephiroth!" The black haired soldier said quickly as his comrade disappeared down the so called street.

* * *

The two girls ran through the streets of the sector trying to out run Corneo's lap dogs or gain a big enough lead to slip into a hiding spot. Claire knew that both of the options were not going to happen because she was twelve, Serah was ten, and they were trying to out run three fully grown men.

Claire guided Serah around a corner into a back alley. She knew that the men had seen her go into the alley and would be right on their trail and upon them in any moment. After a number of corners Claire's worst fear became reality, a dead end. The three men rounded the corner just after Claire turned around.

"Nowhere else to run girls," The man on the left said in a cocky tone.

"Why did you run anyway?" The one on the right asked "The Don just wants to talk to you."

"Yeah right!" Serah shouted back.

"He wants us to be his whores!" Claire yelled at the men.

"Well that saves the Don some time," the man in the middle said to the two flanking him "We may as well get this over with," The two flanking him started to move towards the girls.

When one of the men grabbed Claire she slammed the top of her head into the mans groin which caused him to release her and fall over. The other man grabbed her around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Claire instantly started to kick the man in the shins, making him yell in pain every few kicks.

Serah ran at the man that gave the order and punched him in the stomach. Being only ten years old, the man just laughed at her pitiful strength and back handed her. When Serah fell to the ground and began to cry, Claire called the man every foul name she could think of and make up on the spot.

Claire's shouted profanity made the man laugh even harder. Claire began to cry as well because she knew that there was no way her or Serah could escape this situation. At least, she did until she saw someone round the corner the rest of them had come around. Claire was only able to see a little bit of the silver hair but that was all she needed to see.

"Hey," The silver haired soldier said as he tapped the laughing mans left shoulder with his right hand "Why don't you leave these girls alone?"

"Why don't you mind your own business?" The man said as he turned around to face the soldier but was met with a left hook that made his feet leave the ground. The man on the ground recovered in an instant and the man holding Claire dropped her. They both grabbed weapons off the ground and the soldier grabbed the sword of his right hip.

Claire took this chance and grabbed her own weapon, a pipe with an elbow joint at the end. She swung it as hard as she could at the best weak spot to target, the side of the ribs, of the man that was holding her a moment ago. The pipe met his ribs and a sickening snapping noise went into the air. Claire saw the man drop to the ground, his partner, the one she headbutted, turn with a look of fear on his face and the eyes of the soldier go wide. Claire took advantage of the surprise and swung the pipe at the second man, making the elbow joint connect with the mans jaw.

The three injured men shot to their feet and sprinted away. The three nearly ran into the other two soldiers when they went around the corner. When the two soldiers rounded the corner they just saw their silver haired friend and the two pink haired girls.

"Always gotta be the hero, don't ya?" The black haired soldier said jokingly as he playfully shoved his friend.

"Yeah, actually. But I'm not the one that beat those guys," The silver haired soldier replied.

"Wait. Are you saying that the girl did that?" The auburn haired soldier asked with a confused tone.

"Yep, she was able to fight off two fully grown men. I punched the first one," The silver haired soldier stated to the other two "I'm bringing her back," He pointed at Claire with his sword before quickly glancing at it and sheathing it.

"You're going to bring slum rats to the director?" The auburn haired man.

"Genesis, you say that one more time and will report you for civilian harassment," The silver haired soldier said to the auburn haired soldier.

"We're not going anywhere!" Clair shouted at the three men as she hugged her sister, making the silver haired one turn and walk towards her. He went to one knee in front of them and started speaking in a soft tone.

"Do you want to get out of the slums?" Serah nodded before thinking and Claire was stunned by the eyes of the man, they were bright green with slit pupils, something she had only seen with cats. She felt like there was no way she could not trust this man "Do you want to have a house?" They both nodded "Do you want to be able to feed yourselves well?" They both nodded again "All you need to do," He said directly to Claire "Is let me take you to a friend of mine and you will be able to get whatever you and your sister wants," His words made the girls begin to cry from happiness "What're your names?"

"Serah," Serah said quietly.

"Claire," Claire also said quietly "You?" The soldier huffed in amusement.

"Sephiroth," He replied.


	2. Chapter 2

"You want me to let her join the SOLDIER program?" Director Lazard shouted at Sephiroth "You guys were missing for three hours and you came back with a kid, asking me to let them join SOLDIER! You have broken enough rules to make it so I should just fire you now!" Sephiroth merely leaned against the wall and took the verbal beating without even looking at the director. Lazard swept his hand through his hair and repositioned his glasses even though there was no need, which told Sephiroth that he was calming down "What makes you think she can even qualify?"

"She took every advantage she had," Sephiroth stated flatly "Not to mention she moved about as fast as me when I was that age."

"The point is that you're asking me to allow a girl into the program. We have never had any female SOLDIER members before."

"That is because we have never had any volunteers," Sephiroth countered "Let her join, I will take full responsibility for her and her sister. She will be my student, I will train and teach her."

"We both know you can't just . . . draft an orphan into the program Sef," The director said without looking at the soldier.

"Then get me the adoption paperwork," Sephiroth saw Lazard's eyes go wide and heard the director make several sighs as he searched for an argument.

"Fine, but if the president starts giving me trouble for this-"

"He won't," Sephiroth interrupted as he started to walk away. He left the briefing room and motioned for the sisters to follow him. Angeal and Genesis began to flank him of their own accord. Angeal opened his mouth to ask a question but Sephiroth cut him off before he could speak.

"They'll have my room and I will sleep in the barracks for now," Sephiroth stated without facing his friend.

"Well I guess that answers my other question as well," Angeal commented.

"I can't believe the director is actually allowing this," Genesis said in an insulting tone. Sephiroth made a noise similar to a growl as he shook his head.

After the long hallway they group went up one flight stairs and continued down the next hallway. Angeal and Genesis broke off when they passed their rooms. When Sephiroth and the Farron sisters passed Sephiroth's room he opened the door for them, told them how to work the bathroom fixtures, walked out of the room and bid them goodnight as he closed the door.

"This is so cool!" Serah exclaimed in an overly cheerful voice as she looked around the room for the second time.

"Lets go have a bath before bed," Claire told her sister. She had seen how Sephiroth's hair had shone and thought that was because it was clean. Claire wanted her hair to shine as well.

**The Next Day**

Sephiroth had come into the room, woken the sisters and gave them a bag of new clothes, which he had paid one of his fans to retrieve. He had made the fan swear to never reveal that he was going to adopt to orphans from the slums. Luckily, for Sephiroth, he had a photographic memory so he had been able to guess the girls sizes fairly accurately. Sephiroth had left the room after wishing the girls a good morning and giving them their new clothes.

Instead of ratty and torn sweat pants, sleeveless shirts, and jackets, the sisters now had brand new underwear, short sleeve shirts, jeans, and thin sweaters. For the first time since they were orphaned they had shoes that fit.

The sisters had followed Sephiroth to the cafeteria, or mess hall to the soldiers, he walked them over to a table and told them to wait while he went up. A short while later Angeal and Genesis entered the mess hall and sat at the table with the sisters. They heard the two men talking about the new recruits that were going through something called, the qualification process.

When Sephiroth returned he had a tray of food in one hand and a large yellow envelope, and pen, in the other. He put the tray down in front of the sisters and sat opposite of them, beside Genesis. The sisters each took half of what was on the tray as Sephiroth took several pages out of the envelope.

"Is that what I think it is?" Genesis asked Sephiroth.

"No one can be drafted into the SOLDIER program," Sephiroth replied without looking at Genesis "Orphan's are no exception. Only a parent or guardian can allow a child to go into the program."

"Are you actually-" Angeal began to say.

"Yep," Sephiroth cut off before turning to the girls "What is your last name?"

"Farron," Claire replied.

"F-A-R-R-O-N," Serah spelt for Sephiroth. He nodded and gave them a smile before turning back to the paper and writing.

"Wasn't Farron the name of the former head of Urban Development?" Genesis asked with a look of remembering.

"Yes, and do _not_ go into detail," Sephiroth replied with a very threatening tone "Ever."

"So Sephiroth," Angeal said louder than he had to "You're going to teach Claire to be a soldier. But what about . . ." He starred at Serah for a second because he did not know her name "Her?" Angeal finished as he pointed at Serah.

"I am going to hire a tutor for both of them until they are ready for high school. Then I will send _Serah_ to high school and keep tutor's for Claire," Sephiroth replied to the black haired man, emphasizing Serah's name so Angeal would know.

The conversation ended there. Angeal and Genesis went back to what they were talking about, Sephiroth went back to his paperwork, and the sisters continued to eat. Angeal stopped talking to Genesis as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Sir? . . . Yes sir . . . Yes sir, we're on our way," Angeal flipped his phone closed and stood up "The director wants us Genesis. Sephiroth, good luck. You'll need it," With that, Genesis and Angeal left.

**Four Months Later**

Claire was beginning to feel very sick. She could feel the bile rising into her throat and had fight very hard not to stop and vomit. She felt as if she had been running laps for the last three hours, but it had only been twelve minutes. Claire wanted to show that she could complete any task given to her and she had no intention of letting the simple task of running defeat her.

"Again," Sephiroth said without looking away from the stopwatch as she raced by him.

Claire's legs were burning, her lungs refused to take in air, her heart was threatening to explode, and her stomach was pushing its contents up to her mouth. When she was half way around the track in the virtual environment, she gave up. Claire stopped running, bent and let her stomach empty itself. She felt absolutely exhausted and ready to throw up than she had in her gut. She sat on the ground and tried to get her breathing and pulse under control. She jumped slightly when something landed on her shoulders.

"To be honest," Sephiroth said calmly. Claire then realized that it was his arm on her shoulders "This wasn't a test of speed. I wanted to know how stubborn you are," He chuckled lightly at the statement "Depending on the situation, being stubborn can be good or bad," Sephiroth took out his phone and ended the simulation. He flipped it closed and checked the time "Get some rest, your tutor will be here soon."

Sephiroth helped her back to her room where Serah was doing homework that was assigned by the tutor. Claire took a shower put on casual clothes and got a drink from the fountain in the room. She pulled out her book and double checked all the questions that were assigned the previous day. Sephiroth had told her that he had requested they get a very accelerated education, because he wanted Serah to go to high school at the same age as other kids, which was only two and half years away.

**In the Mess Hall**

"Why did you get such an expensive tutor for them?" Genesis asked with his usual mocking tone, which he only used when he was referring to the girls.

"Yeah. You do know that you could of had Hojo teach them,"Angeal said to Sephiroth.

"That creep?" Sephiroth replied with a disgusted tone and a surprised look "I don't even like being on the same floor as him. Why would I let him near my girls?"

"He does have the best education and the highest intelligence of all the Shinra employees," Angeal argued, summing up the majority of the world by saying Shinra employees.

"I _hate_ being around him though. He scares me because he is always looking at me the same way he looks at his specimen. If someone scares _me,_ why would I let him go near my girls?"

"I guess you have a point there," Angeal replied with a defeated tone "But remember, he is the only one allowed to do the infusion procedure."

"Which reminds me, two days until Claire is made a third."

"If she survives the infusion," Genesis said without looking at them.

"Why would you even say that?" Sephiroth nearly shouted at his friend.

"There is the rare case Sef," Angeal pointed out "Not to mention that the process that makes us, as in all SOLDIER members, unique has never been performed on a girl before."

"She'll be fine," Sephiroth said in a aggressive tone "And maybe one day she will be better than you two. Just like me," Sephiroth said with a cocky tone and a smile.

**Two Days Later, SOLDIER Medical Center**

Claire looked at the giant glass tube with a nervous feeling in her gut and she took a step closer to Sephiroth unintentionally. When the scientist entered the room she saw the steel name tag on the white coat and saw that it said Prof. M. Hojo. He had long black hair that was tied back, glasses and a face that could only be described as crooked.

Hojo looked at Sephiroth with his usual look of examining a speciman and looked down at Claire. When their gazes locked Claire wanted to hide behind Sephiroth but refused to show weakness. Hojo's gaze went back to Sephiroth and Claire looked up to see a dark glare on the soldiers face.

"So how is the legend today?" Hojo asked with a smile and a cheerful tone.

"There is no need for formalities, Hojo," Sephiroth practically spat the scientists name "You know full well why we are here. Now do the procedure and call me when she wakes up," Sephiroth turned to leave but Claire grabbed his arm.

"What do you mean when I wake up?" Claire asked in a demanding tone.

"I have to put you to sleep in the tank so you don't feel the mako energy combining with your cells," Hojo answered. Sephiroth gave Claire the look that he gave her when they first met, the look that asked her to trust him. She wordlessly agreed and let go of the soldiers arm "Sephiroth remember that there is a one in six chance that she succumbs to mako poisoning."

"I know," Sephiroth replied flatly without looking back. He left the room and Claire alone with Hojo.

"Why did you call him a legend?" Claire asked. It was a question that was bugging her since Hojo greeted Sephiroth.

"Because that's what he is. He is a legend among the military. You'll know more later, now please step into the tube," Hojo said as the tube hissed and the glass lifted into the ceiling "But first please remove your clothing," Claire gave a look that said she would much rather die "If your clothes get soaked in mako, its more likely that you will succumb to the poisoning and die of over exposure."

"What will stop you from raping me after I'm asleep?" Claire argued.

"I like my job and I see no point in doing something as frivolous as going to prison," Hojo could see that there was no way he would win this argument "Fine, then take a blanket to wrap yourself in the tank," He turned to the controls of the mako tank "Just tell me when your ready."

Claire grabbed the blanket off one of the eight beds in the room and wrapped it around her self. She then stripped down underneath the blanket, with a large amount of trouble, because she did not trust the scientist or the two security cameras in opposite corners of the square room. She stepped onto the raised platform of the tank and told Hojo she was ready, he pushed a button and the glass slid downward with a hiss and thud as it locked in place. She looked at the bottom of the tube as four holes opened and something sweet smelling entered the tank. Claire felt her muscles lock in place and saw her vision go dark as she drifted to sleep and something wet touched her feet.

After three hours of watching Claire soak in refined life stream, Hojo pushed the button to start draining the mako. Once it was empty he opened the tank, walked over, tilted the girl into his arms and put her on one of the beds. He pulled a syringe with the muscle relaxant, took of the cap and injected it into her arm. Hojo unwrapped the mako soaked blanket and covered the girl with a fresh one. Hojo wheeled over a trolley, with all manner of machines meant for monitoring everything from brainwaves to a pulse, and hooked all the machines up to the girl.

After a few minutes of monitoring Claire he grabbed her pile of clothes and put it on the end of her bed. He sat down at the terminal, entered his ID and password and began to make a report on the procedure. As he sat and typed something occurred to him, Sephiroth had gone through a lot of trouble to get this girl into the SOLDIER program, which meant she was special.

Hojo stood up walked over to the girl and took out the other syringe he had in the pocket of his lab coat. He uncapped it and stood starring at the black liquid inside it for a moment. The liquid was a refined version of the blood of Sephiroth, the refining was removing all the human and Jenova cells, which left him with a pure Sephiroth gene. He poked it into Claire's left arm and pushed the plunger down until the syringe was empty.

"Now there is nothing she can't learn from you, my son."

**Please review and suggest a Title. I have no clue what to call this story.**

**This story will continue all the way to Advent Children. The other FF13 characters will appear so here is what I want the readers to do: Suggest pairings, be they Male/Female or F/F. They will alter the plot, but for obvious reasons I can't say how.**

**Random fact: So far I am the only one who has posted stories with Sephiroth being one of the major characters.**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been eight months since Claire was made a SOLDIER member and she had started seeing Sephiroth less and less. It was because he was the greatest of the SOLDIER operatives and regularly being sent into the war zone to command the troops. Claire had heard through Sephiroth that Angeal had taken a student and that Angeal would continue her training when Sephiroth was not available, which would be most of the time now.

One of the days Sephiroth had been around to train her, Director Lazard had called a meeting for them. Sephiroth and Claire made their way over to the briefing room and saw that Genesis and Angeal were already there. Angeal though did not have his student with him.

"Where's the puppy?" Sephiroth asked Angeal with a small smile.

"Off being a puppy," Angeal replied with a chuckle. Claire did not understand the joke but assumed she would if she ever met Angeal's student.

"Now that we're all here," Lazard began as he made eye contact with each of them "I can give you all the news. First of all, Claire, since you are Sephiroth's student you have been made a level four second class. You are now authorized to use materia."

"There hasn't been a jump like that since Sephiroth went from third to first," Angeal thought aloud.

"Second, Genesis and Angeal, you two have been promoted. Genesis, you are now Lieutenant General. Angeal, Major General," They both snapped a salute and said their thanks as Lazard handed them medals. Claire looked at Sephiroth and saw that he had a look of confusion "Don't worry Sephiroth, I haven't forgotten you. The president told me to make you a five star General," Lazard handed a medal to Sephiroth and Sephiroth snapped a salute and said his thanks "You four are dismissed. Oh, Angeal, when you see him again, could you tell Zack he's been made a second for me?"

"Yes sir," Angeal replied before the group left the room.

The group split up outside the briefing room. Angeal went to go do his rounds, Genesis went towards the training room and Sephiroth and Claire went towards the Farron's room. Claire had one question on her mind at the moment and decided to voice it.

"How do I become a first?" She asked Sephiroth.

"It is very hard to become a first class, Claire," Sephiroth replied "But _when _you become a first I'll buy you something. How's that?" Claire nodded with a large smile on her face "Now, spend some time with your sister until your tutor arrives. I have to go pick up a package that came in."

**The Next Day**

"Damn Sef," Angeal stated loudly when Sephiroth showed the group his new sword "Long enough?"

"And I suppose there is nothing wrong with your iron surfboard?" Sephiroth replied sarcastically. Claire giggled about how immature the three 'legends' were when 'no one' was around

"Hey don't insult the Buster Sword. It didn't do anything to you," Angeal said back with a fake hurt tone.

"Then don't insult the Masamune," Sephiroth said.

"Sephiroth?" Genesis said as he grabbed the other item from Sephiroth's package "About this coat . . ."

"What about the coat?" Sephiroth asked as he grabbed it and turned it around "Oh, what the f- I did say I wanted the buckles to end at half way but I thought they would at least start at the top," Angeal had started laughing.

"Just try it out," Genesis said flatly. Sephiroth put the black leather coat on over his SOLDIER uniform and did the top buckle, which was even with his waist.

"As weird as it sounds, I don't think you should wear a shirt under that," Angeal said to his silver haired friend.

"So what, be bare chested? No thank you," Sephiroth replied to Angeal.

"Hey you'll make all your fan girls crazy," Genesis said in his monotone way.

"That is true," Sephiroth replied in a thoughtful tone and put up an expression of consideration "Okay I'll try out the look. But I am going to be miserable if its cold."

"Understandable," Both Angeal and Genesis said.

"Where's Puppy, by the way?" Sephiroth asked Angeal.

"I gave him a test," Angeal replied "I told him to go get me a left handed knife so I could sharpen the Buster Sword."

"And he believed you?" Sephiroth said in bewilderment "Claire, if I told you to go do that would you believe me?" Claire shook her head "Why is that?"

"Our knives are meant for both hands, Angeal is right handed, and he never uses the Buster Sword so why would it need to be sharpened?" Sephiroth gave Angeal a look of victory.

"Mines better than yours," Sephiroth said in a mocking tone.

"Zack does have a lot of potential," Angeal defended.

"And he is using it to find a left handed knife," Sephiroth mocked.

"Well I better go find Zack before he makes me look bad," Angeal said after pretending to look at his watch. He looked down at his wrist.

"So why did you get such a long sword?" Genesis asked Sephiroth.

"Well, I liked the Wutian swords and I thought it would be nice to have some extra reach," Sephiroth replied as he examined the Masamune.

"Why did you call it the Masamune?" Claire asked.

"It is a Cetra word that loosely translates to slayer of gods," Sephiroth replied to his adopted daughter. Claire nodded her understanding.

Silence fell on the group moments after Sephiroth's reply. Genesis took Loveless out of the pocket of his red leather trench coat and started reading it, again. Claire saw Sephiroth send a glare at his coat every few seconds then go back to intensely examining the white steel wall. The three sat in the lounge area for a quarter of an hour before one of them spoke.

"Claire's tutor will be here in twenty minutes," Genesis stated without even looking away from Loveless.

"What?" Sephiroth asked in a confused tone as he pulled out his cell phone to check the time "What d'ya know, your right," Claire got up and went back to her room.

"What does Serah do all day?" Genesis asked without looking at Sephiroth.

"She helps out in any way she can."

"You trust her alone in the building?"

"I got her a special ID card that gets her into all the places I can get into," Genesis huffed at the statement. Sephiroth wished he knew why Genesis disliked the Farron girls.

**Twenty-Two Months Later**

It had been about two and a half years since the Farron girls had first met Sephiroth. Claire was now fourteen and Serah was twelve. They had been well taught by the tutors Sephiroth had hired for them and Claire had learned much from Sephiroth's training.

Sephiroth had started calling Claire, Lightning for several reasons. She was getting to be almost as fast as him, she favoured thunder magic, and whenever they sparred she would never attack the same place twice in a row. Claire had liked the title and insisted on having everyone call her Lightning until the director actually changed the name on her registry.

Claire went to her room after her independent training session and saw Serah packing bags with Sephiroth's help.

"Whats going on?" Claire asked, trying to sound calm.

"Serah's going to a real school now. A boarding school in Bodhum," Sephiroth replied to Claire.

"Why can't she go to a school in Midgar?" Claire sounded close to tears.

"Midgar is becoming dangerous. And I want Serah to see land that hasn't been killed by reactors," Sephiroth's words made Claire realize that Serah had never been outside the city, and barely even outside the Shinra building in the last two years.

"Then I'll protect her," Claire said with a firm voice.

"I have already decided on this, Claire, nothing is going to change my mind," Sephiroth said in a calm and kind tone "Now, Serah I have to tell you somethings," Serah nodded and sat on the bed "You can't tell _anyone_ that you know me, or that your sister is in SOLDIER, understand?"

"Why?" Serah asked with an innocent tone. Sephiroth went to one knee before continuing.

"There are people that would want to hurt Claire and myself, just because we are SOLDIER members. And they will hurt you, or worse, to hurt us. If either of you were to get hurt I would stop at nothing to punish whoever was responsible."

"So what can I say, if someone asks?" Serah asked.

"You can say that your sister lives in Midgar, she is twenty-two, and she sells clothes, okay?" Sephiroth said, providing a decent cover story "I'm going to miss you Serah," Sephiroth said with a small smile.

Claire went to her sister and pulled her into a hug, which was returned "I will always be there if you need me," Claire whispered to Serah.

"Be strong Lightning," Serah said back with a giggle. Claire laughed slightly at Serah using her alias "Look, Sephiroth is crying too," Serah whispered. Claire saw that Sephiroth had shed one tear.

"Well, Serah," Sephiroth said as he wiped the tear away "You have a train to catch, so we need to go."

Claire walked with them until they met Serah's escort. The escort was a red haired woman in casual clothing but Claire knew that the woman was most likely a Turk or some other kind of elite fighter. Sephiroth and Claire said their final goodbyes to Serah and watched her leave.

Claire was surprised to know that this was the first time that they have been apart for more than a day. She was also surprised to know that Serah was the only one to not shed a tear the whole time. Claire knew that Serah would be crying and wanting to come back before too long though.

**Six Weeks Later**

Genesis had been on a mission to Wutai for the last three days, Sephiroth was being a Shinra diplomat to Palumpolum, and Angeal was given time to train Zack and Claire.

Claire was on her way to the elevator to meet Angeal for some off-base training. She was curious as to why he had wanted to go off base instead of just using the training simulator like always, but then remembered that the simulator had been broken. As she got closer to the elevator she saw Angeal and someone who was almost the same height.

When Claire was beside Angeal she snapped a salute to him and quickly examined the other. He had black spiky hair, the same dark blue uniform as her and a standard SOLDIER longsword on his back. Claire assumed that the boy was Zack and thought that he was four years older than her.

"Right on time, as usual," Angeal said when he saw Claire "This is the first time you two have met, isn't it?" Both students nodded. Claire saw the energy in the boy's eyes "This is the Puppy, my student."

"Zack Fair, SOLDIER, Second class," Zack introduced himself. Zack examined the only girl in SOLDIER. She had pink hair, the usual glowing blue eyes, an arm band with two materia, and a small sword at her left hip.

"Lightning Farron," Claire replied to Zack.

"This is Sephiroth's student, Zack," Angeal said, making Zack double take and his jaw drop.

"Why are we going off base for training?" Claire asked the first.

"The training room is still being repaired," Claire had tried to figure out who was even able to break the training simulator but Angeal had just shrugged and said he didn't know. She also found it strange that Genesis had been injured in some accident at nearly the same time the simulator broke.

During the training Zack had asked Claire the strangest thing. He asked if they could be friends for the rest of their careers. Claire had expected him to ask if she would be his girlfriend because she had already had many people ask that. But Zack had just wanted to be friends, he had openly said that she was not his type, which confused her but she did not press the topic.

When they arrived back at the SOLDIER floor in the Shinra building Zack asked another strange thing.

"Hey Light, do you think that I will be as heroic as Sephiroth?" Zack asked with a large smile and his fists on his hips.

"Maybe if you talk less," Claire said with a sideways glance as she walked by him "And stop trying to show off."

"Thanks, I guess," Zack said with mock depression.

**Next chapter is when Crisis Core begins.**

**Special Thanks to Elizander for inspiration for the title.  
**

**Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Six Weeks Later**

A large portion of the SOLDIER members disappeared seemingly over night. Claire had been called to the briefing room and arrived there at the same time as Angeal. Claire had been expecting an explanation for the mass disappearance.

Zack was two minutes late for the meeting, earning him a huff from Claire when he walked in. Claire was sitting on the left side of Director Lazard and Angeal sat on his right

"Zack. It's good to finally meet face to face," Lazard said as he stood up "Lazard, Director of SOLDIER," Lazard reached forward to shake Zack's hand. Zack returned the gesture.

"Heya!" Zack said, informally greeting his boss.

"On to business," Lazard said as sat back down. He pushed a few buttons and the profile of Genesis appeared on the large display screen. The letters M, I, and A were flashing on his picture (Claire knew that they meant 'Missing In Action') "SOLDIER First Class, Genesis. A month ago, he went missing during a mission in Wutai. Know anything about this?" Lazard said to and asked the three SOLDIER members. Claire and Angeal did not respond at all but Zack spoke.

"Not a clue!" He said while waving his hands slightly.

"The mission is currently stuck in limbo. That's why we have decided to send you," Lazard looked up at Zack then to Claire "And Lightning."

"Uh, to Wutai?" Zack did not really believe what he just heard.

"Yes," Lazard said as Angeal pushed himself back, further into his chair "This war has gone on long enough."

"I've recommended you for First," Angeal said without looking at Zack. Zack turned and began a high pitched laugh of amazement.

"Angeal!" Zack shouted as he ran over and hugged his mentor "I love you, man! Ang-" Angeal gave Zack a hard shove back.

"Don't make me regret this, Zack."

"Sir," Zack saluted, with a large smile, as Angeal stood up "Once you two are packed, you'll leave at once. The operation will begin immediately upon arrival at Wutai."

Claire stood up and went to get her equipment ready. She wanted to laugh about how excited Zack appeared to be about going on a mission. She knew that Sephiroth was getting the director to evaluate her during this mission, because he was not able to do it himself. Sephiroth had already been in Wutai for a week, commanding squadron forty-three, or for this mission, Unit B.

**Several Hours Later**

"Fort Tamblin is straight ahead," Angeal said as he turned to Zack and Claire "Let's hurry. B Unit is standing by."

The three turned to face the path as a set of rapid footsteps approached them. It was a warrior of Wutai, obviously young by all standards.

"You three! Identify yourselves!" the soldier shouted at them. Two more of the Wutai soldiers leaped out of the surrounding bush and the the three charged.

"Just leave it to me!" Zack said as he grabbed his sword.

"Make sure he doesn't hurt himself," Angeal whispered to Claire. Claire allowed a small smirk to appear as she drew her sword and ran up to Zack's side.

Claire and Zack disposed of the Wutai soldiers with minimal difficulty. Zack spun his large sword several times before replacing it on his back. Claire simply sheathed the slim blade she was taught to use.

"All right, next!" Zack shouted cheerfully.

"Calm down, Zack," Angeal said in his classic mentor tone.

"No can do," Zack replied with a large grin on his face.

"The director is watching from somewhere, right?" Zack said as he looked around the area, reminding Claire about the same thing, as Angeal walked by them "I, sorry, _we_ have to make a good impression." Claire stifled a laugh at Zack's comment.

"Zack," Angeal said after stopping "Do you know about dumbapples?"

"No, what is that?" Zack replied.

"Unbelievable," Angeal said in mock amazement "How can you not know about dumbapples? You'll never make first at that rate. But don't worry, Claire will."

"Whoa, wait!" Zack shouted as he ran up to Angeal "What are dumbapples!" Angeal started to run up ahead leaving Zack and Claire a fair distance behind. It took them a couple of minutes to catch up to Angeal "So Angeal, what's the deal with 'dumbapples'?" Angeal stopped and turned to the two young soldiers before speaking.

"The official name is Banora White. The trees bear fruit at random times during the year. Because of that, the townspeople affectionately call them dumbapples," Angeal's gaze moved upward slightly and Claire assumed he was remembering something "The local farms had plenty of them to spare."

"Oh, really?" Zack said with a suspicious tone.

"So you stole them," Claire said bluntly, knowing what Zack was implying.

"We were poor, you two," Angeal said to defend himself.

"Nice excuse," Zack said calmly. Claire, on the other hand, knew what that was like.

"But even then, I had my honor. The largest Banora White tree grew on a wealthy man's estate. It was rumored that those apples tasted the best. But I never stole from that tree, because the wealthy man's son was my friend."

"If he was a friend, you should have just asked for some," Zack said as paced back and forth with his hands behind his head.

"You don't get it do you?" Claire nearly snapped at Zack.

"Honor can be quite a burden at times," Angeal said calmly.

"And what exactly does this have to do with me? Or Claire?" Zack asked with a confused tone.

"No story is not worth hearing," Angeal said after crossing his arms. He uncrossed his arms and started to walk away, beginning to laugh. Claire had started walking as soon as Angeal had, she also saw the joke Angeal had played on Zack.

"What? That's it?" Zack said still confused "Yeah, well, thanks a lot!" Zack shouted as he ran to catch up to Angeal and Claire.

He found the other two crouched behind some bushes. They both had their eyes on the fort that was directly in front of them. Zack slid into the cover beside them and Angeal spoke as soon as Zack was on his feet.

"B Unit will set off an explosion. That's our cue," Angeal stated to the two young soldiers, without turning to them.

"The diversion will allow us to infiltrate," Zack added.

"Right," Angeal nodded "I'll set the bomb inside the fortress. You and Claire will charge the front gate, and-"

"Uh-huh, and? And? And? And?" Zack interrupted with an overly cheerful tone and motion. Claire huffed her disapproval at how immature Zack was being.

"Indulge yourself," Angeal said flatly.

"You got it!" Zack said as he turned back to the fort "That's what I do best!" Zack stood up and began looking around in a seemingly random direction "Come on, B unit . . ."

Angeal drew the Buster Sword and put his forehead against it. Claire had seen him do that before every mission and training session. She speculated that he was performing some kind of prayer but really didn't care enough to ask. Angeal replaced the massive sword on his back after a second. Zack crouched back down and had his curious face on.

"You know, I've never actually seen you use that. Don't you think it's sort of a waste?"

"Use brings about wear . . . tear . . . and rust. And that's a real waste," Angeal said to defend his lack of using the sword.

You're serious, aren't you?" Zack asked.

"Yeah," Angeal replied.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Claire asked Zack.

"I can be pretty cheap," Angeal added to his reply.

"Yeah, no kidding," Zack said with a smile.

A large, loud and bright explosion ended their conversation. Zack and Claire stood and walked ahead of Angeal. Angeal gave them both a quick nod and made one statement.

"Begin Mission."

Zack and Claire leaped from the cliff they had been waiting on and charged towards the front gate of the fortress. There was a battalion of Wutai soldiers and a squad of snipers on the walls, waiting for the two elite soldiers.

The commander of the battalion shouted something in Wutian to the soldiers before waving his troops forward. The snipers began shooting, and Zack and Claire charged forward to meet the enemies.

The battle with the battalion of enemy soldiers lasted several minutes. Many bullets had passed close to Claire's head and limbs but none actually touched her. Zack was able to out maneuver most of them, a few shots grazed his arms and legs.

The soldiers of Wutai had put up a very good fight, but they didn't even get close to harming one of the SOLDIER operatives. When the fight ended, Zack spun his standard SOLDIER longsword before placing it on his back and Claire just sheathed the thin sword she used.

The duo entered the fortress and Zack's phone started to ring. Zack pulled I out of his pocket and answered. After a few seconds Zack responded to the caller.

"Piece of Cake! I bet we could've done it blindfolded!" Claire hoped Zack meant the battle a moment ago "If I take it out, do you think I'll make first?" Zack said after another couple of seconds, making Claire wished she could hear the other side of the conversation as well "Oh, that'll be easy! Just leave it to me-er-us!"

Zack flipped his phone closed and began running. He motioned for Claire to follow him and they began their mission of causing chaos inside the fort.

Claire hoped this war would end soon. She wanted to see her sister and Sephiroth again.

**Sorry about taking forever and a half to update this story. I didn't have any kind of writers block, but I did actually forget about it for a while.**

**Please Review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**All I can say right now is, thank you for all the lovely reviews.**

Zack and Claire proceeded through the fort with little difficulty. They would encounter a group of Wutai soldiers around almost every corner, and at least one of the squad would shout something before they charged into certain death.

When they arrived in the central courtyard, they calmly walked towards the pagoda. Before reaching the front steps of the structure Zack got distracted by a statue of a snake-like dragon. He walked over to it and stood staring at it for a moment.

"What's this?" Zack asked no one in particular. Claire had to agree with him on that, so she walked closer to get a better look.

"That is Wutai's guardian deity," A voice from behind them said calmly "Leviathan," Zack and Claire turned around and saw three Wutai soldiers in silver armour "We are the Crescent, the Wutai army's elite unit. We appease the wrath of Leviathan, and smite the enemies of Wutai," Claire huffed her amusement at the misguided beliefs of the Wutai soldiers "Our beloved homeland has been brutally ravaged by Shinra."

"I heard that if we could process the mako here, it would help people live better lives. But then you attacked us without even hearing us out!" Zack said to defend the company that almost owned the world.

"What do you know of the pain we have suffered? Shinra has continually brought fear and oppression to the innocent people of Wutai!" Zack and Claire remained silent "I would like to ask you one last thing. Are you two satisfied with using your immense power to serve an evil organization like Shinra? Does it bring you joy to torture innocent people?" Both Zack and Claire felt those words cut deep.

Claire was trying very hard not to let any emotion creep past her mental wall. Zack hung his head before speaking in a near whisper.

"That's not what I. . ." Zack drifted off.

"If there is any remorse in your hearts," The soldiers tone had gone to a pleading tone "Then atone for your actions by joining our cause!" Zack and Claire once again had no response "Of course, we cannot pay you much, but you can use your power in the name of justice!" Zack slowly brought his head up and looked at the soldier that had been talking.

"Justice. . .? Is that really the case?" Zack said with a thoughtful tone.

"Is it so terrible to provide mako to people and make their lives better?" Claire said to refocus herself and Zack.

"I. . . _We _chose to serve Shinra. Whatever happens, we have to stand by that decision," Zack said, quoting Angeal and glancing down at Claire.

"I was foolish to think I could reason with villains," The soldier said in a dark tone "For those of us born and raised in Wutai, losing our land is the same as losing our lives. Hence, I must eliminate you, as my last duty to the land and my family. You will now witness the wrath of the Wutai!"

Zack and Claire drew their swords and jumped to the sides just as the three soldiers sent a volley of gunfire at where they had been standing. The SOLDIER duo was able to incapacitate one of the three Wutai soldiers and decided to let him live. It had been the soldier that spoke to them before the battle.

"Why do you not finish me?" The soldier asked from the ground.

"Go home to your family," Claire said in her most commanding tone, which had yet to be perfected.

"As long as we breathe, we will continue to target Shinra," The soldier on the ground stated "I promise . . . one day, we will have your heads."

"I'll be waiting," Claire said flatly.

"Just go home, and stay there," Zack said over his shoulder.

Zack and Claire walked up the steps at the front of the pagoda and cautiously approached the door. They had had enough with ambushes for today. But once again, a voice came from behind them.

"One, avoid unnecessary training!" The voice of a young girl said "Two, protect Wutai at all costs! Three, ugly Shinra SOLDIER people . . ." Claire actually took some offence at that ". . . Must be PUNISHED!"

Zack and Claire turned around and saw a small girl facing them. She had jaw length black hair, a green headband, a green and yellow Wutai shirt with a yellow hood, white shorts, and yellow with white shoes. The girl seemed to be about nine years old and she had the most cocky stance.

"Who are you?" Zack asked the girl.

"I'm Wutai's greatest warrior!" The girl said proudly.

"I highly doubt that," Claire whispered to Zack.

"If you wanna go further, you have to go through me!" The girl continued.

"You shouldn't be playing here, it's dangerous!" Zack said to, hopefully, make the girl go away "Go home to your parents."

"You're the one who's going home!" The girl shouted back at Zack "If you insist on going any further, you'll have a fight on your hands!" The mysterious girl began running at the two and Zack just started scratching his head.

"Oh, man . . . What am I supposed to do here?"

"Humour her," Claire said with a small shrug.

When the girl reached them, she started to punch Zack's SOLDIER belt.

"Whap! Pow! Bam!" She shouted each time her hand hit the belt "Take that, bad guy!" Claire could see the gears in Zack's head turning as he considered what to do. He suddenly collapsed to the ground and covered his head.

"Arrrgh! Nooo! You got me!" Zack half yelled in a defeated tone.

"There! That'll teach you to mess with me!" The girl shouted cheerfully " "Once again, I've brought peace to Wutai!" It was obvious that she had completely forgot about Claire.

The girl turned away from them and started running towards the way out of the area. Zack stood up and shook his head slightly while chuckling.

"Strange girl," He said calmly before turning back to the pagoda.

Claire turned as well, and they pushed the doors open and carefully examined the area. Their caution was quickly proven futile. A very large hatch in the roof opened and a pair of very large Ogres fell through and landed on their feet. One had green armour and had a massive mace, the other had the same armour but in red, it was slightly smaller than the other one, and it had a massive axe.

The ogre with the axe seemed to lock onto Claire and the green one chose Zack. Claire instantly knew that this was going to be a speed versus speed battle with a parallel strength versus strength battle happening. Claire assumed that the Ogre would not be able to match her speed simply because it was much larger than her.

She was almost fatally wrong. There were many times, more than Claire would openly admit, when the Ogre nearly took her head off her shoulders. She knew that she had to keep the attention of the ogre to keep it from slicing Zack into ribbons. It was nearly as fast as her and she was a fair bit faster than her comrade.

Zack ran right up to his enemy and thrust his sword into the beasts chest. He hoped he had pierced the heart of the giant, but his hope faded as the beast appeared to only be wounded and enraged. Zack pulled his sword free, threw himself to the side to avoid being reduced to a puddle and quickly climbed to his feet. The ogre lifted the mace above its head, readying another blow. Zack took his chance and, once again, ran up to the beast and thrust the sword upwards. Upwards through the beasts jaw and into its skull, cleaving its brain. The Ogre was killed instantly and Zack had barely enough time to pull his sword free before it was trapped beneath the hulk.

Zack ran up behind the other Ogre in an attempt to kill it. Zack lifted his sword above his head with the point of it aimed at the beasts spine, he was about to plant the sword in the beasts back but did not see the beast getting ready to attack. The back swing of the Ogre caught Zack in the gut and launched him across the room and into a pillar. Zack was instantly unconscious.

The Ogre turned to see what it had hit with the blunt side of its axe, letting its defence down. Claire took the opportunity and jumped into the air, ready to strike. She swept her blade across the throat of the beast causing blood to partially spray out of the neck. As soon as Claire landed she ran away from the beast because it decided to spend its final moments of life flailing about. Claire knew that Zack was safe because she had the things attention and she just had to avoid being sliced apart for a few moments.

The Ogre soon fell dead near its partner and Claire walked over to Zack to see if he was alright. After checking his pulse and confirming that he was alive, Claire grabbed her phone out of her pocket and called Angeal.

"SOLDIER second class Claire and second class Zack, we have defeated the anti-SOLDIER beasts," She stated calmly.

"Good work. Now, get out of there quickly. There's only five minutes until detonation," Angeal said to Claire, who was now worried. She had to evacuate the area, Zack was uncoscious and she could not carry him.

"Understood, sir," She said calmly once again. Claire flipped the phone closed and pocketed it.

As she stood thinking about how to get Zack out of the area, her worries increased. A third Ogre dropped into the room and this one looked viscous. It had more armour than the other two, a large carved stone flail, and it seemed to be pissed about its dead partners.

As she dodged the rapid swings of the flail, Claire started to focus on her instinctive fighting lessons from Sephiroth. She shut her eyes, paid closer attention to sounds and the feeling of the air, then lost control. When she opened her eyes next, the new Ogre was lying face down in a growing puddle of Ogre blood. Claire took a breath and sheathed her weapon. She heard Zack move and turned towards the sound.

The next thing Claire knew was an immense amount of pain in her back and one of the pillars was approaching very fast. Darkness was the next thing in her memory along with a cool breeze and the feeling of lying on grass. She forced her eyes open and saw Zack, Angeal and Director Lazard talking.

**Next chapter, Zack meets Sephiroth! But you knew that if you have played Crisis Core.**

**My updates will be kind of slow for two reasons: 1) I have 3 other stories being written simultaneously 2) good stories can't be rushed.**

**So please be patient with me, and please leave a review.**


	6. Chapter 6

"You exceeded my expectations," Claire heard Director Lazard say to Zack as she regained her senses "Keep up the good work, and perhaps the day you make First will not be far off."

"Don't forget that I helped him," Claire said as she stood up, causing the three men to look over to her.

"Do not worry Cla – er – Lightning," Lazard said to the girl "Anyways, Angeal, you were right when you said Zack had promise," Zack began doing squats and Claire walked over to the trio.

"This is just the beginning," Angeal commented to the director.

"I'll be honest, when you first came to me with the recommendation, I was hesitant," Zack stopped doing squats and gave the director a hurt look "I thought for sure that all he was good for was doing squats," Zack looked to Angeal for some defense.

"When I first met him, so did I," Angeal said in an off-handed tone, Zack's hurt look grew a bit worse.

"Sometimes its all he's good for," Claire stated with a half smile. Angeal, Director Lazard and Claire began to laugh at their jokes.

"Why am I always at the center of theses things?" Zack asked no in particular, so none of the other three answered.

"Okay, enough of this joking," Angeal said to cut off the laughter "We have to hurry, Sephiroth is waiting."

"Sephiroth!" Zack shouted excitedly "The SOLDIER hero?" The other three just ignored Zack and walked away. Zack snapped out of his excitement and ran to catch up.

As the group of four walked through the forest a series of rustling caught their attention. The three SOLDIER operatives fell into battle stance and formed a triangle around Lazard, Angeal at the front with Zack and Claire watching the back. Two mysterious assassin looking people jumped out of the bushes.

"Take the director to a safe place," Angeal said calmly to Zack and Claire "Go, now!"

"Follow us, Director," Claire said to Lazard. The three retreated from the area and continued to run through the forest while Lazard kept an eye on the beacon. After breaking through a tree line, the trio panicked two Shinra infantry.

"Thank goodness you're safe, Director Lazard," One of the two said after holstering his pistol.

"I should be fine now, you two. Go and assist Angeal."

Zack and Claire left the director with the soldiers and ran back through the forest. They almost had trouble finding their way back to the area, but Claire had excelled at the tracking part of the training. When they arrived back at the ambush area, all they had found was the two dead assassins.

"Wait a sec, Theses guys aren't Wutai troops . . ." Zack said as Claire examined the area for any sign of Angeal "Gah!" Zack shouted as a levitating red orb appeared in front of him, also grabbing Claires attention.

The red orb exploded into an immense amount of flames that twisted and contorted into the shape of a creature. The shape formed skin, teeth, claws, horns, and hooves. It was the creature Ifrit, one of many materia creatures that existed in the world. The hopelessness of the situation was blatantly obvious, all materia creatures were very powerful and almost always killed what they were aimed at.

"A summon!" Zack shouted out of surprise "Who called it!"

"Doesn't matter," Claire tried to say calmly "We have to destroy it if we want to be more than ash."

Ifrit's feet left the ground and he raised his right hand until it was facing Zack and Claire. Fire began to spread around Ifrit as if he were a stationary meteor aimed at the two young SOLDIER members. Zack and Claire exchanged worried looks sharing the knowledge that even combined, they were not strong enough to take down Ifrit.

When their last shred of hope dissipated and the aura of fire around Ifrit stopped glowing, something unexpected happened. A long streak of light appeared for only an instant in front of Ifrit, it went from Ifrit's left shoulder to his right hip. The large fire beast curled up as tightly as its muscular limbs allowed it, then it exploded into a large cloud of flame. Zack and Claire were confident that it had been a friend that destroyed the summon, so they put away their weapons.

As the smoke from the explosion began to clear someone broke through the cloud. It was not Angeal as they had been expecting, and slightly hoping for, it was Sephiroth. The General with outrageously long silver hair walked towards the two dead bodies that Zack and Claire were standing over. It seemed like Sephiroth did not even notice the presence of the younger SOLDIER members.

"Holy . . ." Zack said out of awe as he watched Sephiroth approach the bodies and go to one knee to examine them. Sephiroth grabbed the helmet of one of the dead assassins and pushed it off.

"Genesis," Sephiroth said in a calm tone. Claire felt her eyes go wide.

"The missing SOLDIER first class?" Zack said, completely confused, Claire shared the feeling. Sephiroth pushed off the other helmet and the confusion doubled "They're identical!"

"Genesis copies," Sephiroth stated without any movement towards Zack.

"Copy? A human copy?" Claire almost shouted out of skepticism. Sephiroth sharply moved his gaze to the two young soldiers.

"Where is Angeal?" Sephiroth said in his commanding tone.

"I thought he was fighting around here," Zack said trailing off at the end.

"Humph," Sephiroth grunted "So he's gone too," Sephiroth said quietly before standing.

"What?" Zack and Claire said in unison "What does that mean?" Zack said to Sephiroth's back as Claire simply watched.

"It means that Angeal has betrayed us as well," Claire could hear Sephiroth's glare through his heated tone. Sephiroth began walking away.

"No way!" Zack nearly shouted to defend his mentor "I know what kind of guy Angeal is. And he'd never do that!" Sephiroth stopped to face Zack.

When Claire saw Sephiroth's glare, she thought Zack was about to have a broken jaw. Zack took two steps back, even though he was already ten feet away from Sephiroth. Claire could read her adoptive fathers thoughts at the moment. He was thinking about how Zack claimed to know Angeal better than he.

"Angeal wouln't betray us! Never!" It was obvious how devastated Zack was. Claire saw Sephiroth's expression soften a small amount after he realized how Zack was feeling.

Sephiroth looked directly at Claire and held her gaze for a moment. The look was friendly and it said 'I'm glad to see that your safe.'

"Our chopper is waiting," Sephiroth said to break the silence that had formed.

**Sorry about the length of this chapter. Next chapter will be the usual length. Thanks to all those that follow this story, and please don't forget to leave a review.**

**By the way, I recommend going to my profile and reading my story The Labyrinth. Please forgive my self advertising but I believe everyone will enjoy that story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**The updates for this story will still be drastically delayed. But they will appear this is now priority one for me. Also, please don't give me ideas for later on in the story, I am very thankful for them but please hold on to them until about that point in the story. It throws off my mind and makes me think about later on when I should be thinking about the present and causes more delay. I love the ideas though. **

Claire had been expecting some sort of talk with Sephiroth when they rejoined after the mission. She knew he was going to say something but the betrayal of Angeal had probably sealed his lips. Claire knew that Sephiroth was having a very bad time seeing as how his two oldest and only friends had betrayed the company and him.

It had been a month since then and Sephiroth had barely said a word. Many SOLDIER seconds and thirds had lost faith in Sephiroth's loyalty and were saying that he was going to join his traitorous friends. No one in their right mind would say that around Sephiroth or if he was even on the same floor.

Sephiroth was not the only one being badmouthed through the company. Many people had begun doubting the loyalty of Zack and Claire as well. Claire was relieved when she was finally called to the briefing room for a mission.

"Director," Claire said with a nod as she entered the room. Director Lazard gave a nod back.

"I'm sending you to the hometown of our missing SOLDIER first class, Genesis," Director Lazard said calmly to her, Claire nodded in response "His parents say they've had no contact with Genesis at all."

"They can't be trusted," Claire said for Lazard.

"Correct," Lazard stated with a nod "Now, you will be accompanied by one of the Turks."

"Sir, if I may," Claire said with a flat tone "But which one will be going with me?"

Before the director could answer, the door opened with a small hiss. Sephiroth was the one to interrupt the briefing.

"Director," Sephiroth said with a small nod towards Lazard "I must request that you send Zack on this mission. Serah has returned for the weekend and would like her to see her sister."

"Very well," Lazard replied without hesitation.

Claire and Sephiroth turned to leave as Lazard pulled out his cellphone. Just before the door shut behind them, Claire heard Lazard tell someone to contact Zack to send him to the briefing room.

"Glad to see Serah?" Sephiroth asked Claire with a look that said he already knew the answer. Claire just let a small grin appear to answer the tall silver haired General "I must say though, that mission was originally assigned to me."

"What?" Claire said with genuine confusion.

"Do you really think I would want either of us to be in Banora when Serah visits?"

"You do have a point," Claire stated with a mumble "Are you sure Zack will be alright?"

"It's just a minor investigation," Sephiroth said with a quizzical look "What do you think could happen?"

"I don't know," Claire said with a shrug "You're the one that gets paid to think," Sephiroth burst out laughing at the joke.

A moment after Sephiroth had calmed down, a third class SOLDIER rounded the corner infront of them. He ran up to Sephiroth and Claire and snapped a salute.

"Sir!" The young trainee said as he saluted "Your visitor is waiting in the lounge."

Sephiroth and Claire said their thanks and passed by him to head to the lounge.

Serah had been allowed into the SOLDIER floor and had been waiting in the lounge for Sephiroth and Claire. Even though they all were wearing helmets, she knew every SOLDIER that walked by gave her a strange look. It amused her to think that she seemed alien to these people. When she saw Sephiroth and Claire round the corner, she shot out of her chair and ran over them. Serah wrapped her arms around Claire in what would have been a bone crushing hold to normal people.

The first day of the visit with Serah went well. They talked about the school Serah was attending, Serah's new friends, what had happened since she had been gone. All had been well, until the second day of the visit when Sephiroth's phone rang. He flipped it open, a moment of silence, then he flipped it closed and clipped it back on his belt.

"Director Lazard would like to see us both," He said to Claire before turning to Serah "I'm sorry for this, but you can come to if you want."

Serah nodded and the three set off towards the Director's office. Sephiroth had a look that said he forgot to do something. He quickly grabbed his phone, flipped it open and pushed several buttons before holding it up to his ear.

"It's been a while, Zack. . . Come to Lazard's room," Sephiroth said in his most official voice.

"What is this about?" Claire asked her adoptive father.

"You'll see," Sephiroth replied with a smirk.

When the three arrived in the Director's office, Serah and Claire looked around the clean room. It was their first time in the office of the only person that was able to tell Sephiroth what to do. There were two desks, a large bookshelf set in the wall, opposite of the first desk and a black chair that had Director Lazard sitting in it.

Sephiroth grabbed a folder off the smaller desk, which was not Lazard's personal desk. He flipped it open and leaned against the smaller desk. Serah and Claire stopped with him and Lazard finally looked up at them and away from what he was doing.

"Ah, Claire," He said quickly as if he had just remembered why they were there "Please step forward," Claire obeyed and walked up to the desk as Lazard put his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers "Congratulations, You have been promoted to first class," Claire's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped slightly "Not to ruin this moment, but I wish you were able to serve alongside Angeal and Genesis," Claire saw the director's eyes glance over her shoulder and back "Oh, yes," Lazard reached down beside him and placed a long box on the table "The weapons department wanted someone to test this prototype and I believe you were the best candidate," Claire began reaching forward but looked to Lazard for confirmation, who just nodded.

Claire slowly took the top of the box off and was stunned by the contents. It was a strange looking sword that seemed like it had many random and useless parts strapped to the side. The handle of the sword looked as if it had a trigger hidden in it.

"It can collapse into a short range Blaze Rifle," Lazard stated as Claire lifted the weapon out of the box "Pull on the black strip on the handle to make it change."

"Isn't there supposed to be a Blaze Cannon on the new model of Guard Scorpions?" Sephiroth asked Lazard.

"Yes, but the boys in Robotics affectionately call it the tail laser. And you're not supposed to know that," Sephiroth chuckled at Lazard "Anyways, Claire you have to change it to put it in the sheath, which should still be in the box," Claire nodded as she initiated the transformation and stared in awe as the sword transformed into a gun. She grabbed the sheath out of the box and slid the gun form sword into it.

The group of four heard the elevator doors open and heavy footsteps signaling Zack's arrival. He came around the corner just as Claire went back to the side of Sephiroth and Serah. Zack walked straight towards Lazard and placed his hands on his hips.

"Congratulations, Zack Fair," Lazard said calmly "As of this moment, you're promoted to SOLDIER first class."

All but Zack had been expecting the black haired operative to cheer or dance around. However, Zack only stood there dumbly for a second before saying anything.

"Huh,"He said as he raised his hands just above his waist "I thought I'd be happier," Zack looked at between his hands several times.

"Understandable. Too much happened too fast," Lazard commented, trying to raise Zack's spirit "Zack, I'm afraid I need your assistance again," Zack instantly turned towards Sephiroth.

"Are you pushing another assignment on me?" Zack asked in a slightly less than friendly tone.

Sephiroth sighed quietly and looked between Claire and Serah once before looking to Zack.

"My apologies," Zack turned back to Lazard.

"Whatever," Zack said in the same tone as before. Claire now wanted to hurt Zack quite badly.

"If you are done, good," Lazard said to keep any arguments from happening "The company has decided to eliminate Genesis and his cohorts. Sadly, this includes Angeal as well."

"What?" Claire nearly shouted.

"And you want me to do it?" Zack said in a tone that said he would much rather remove one of his own limbs.

"No," Zack looked relieved "the Shinra Army will handle it," Lazard said, his tone growing dark at the end.

"What about me?" Zack said quickly, almost interrupting Lazard.

"They don't trust you," Lazard said, more to the room than Zack individually.

"They believe your emotions will hamper your judgment," Sephiroth said calmly.

"Well, of course!" Zack said loudly after nearly collapsing on Lazard's desk.

"That's why when the mission is put into action, I'm going too," Sephiroth said calmly again.

Claire couldn't believe what she just heard. Sephiroth had just stated that he is going to help the Shinra Army kill his old friends. She suspected that it didn't even come close to that, that Sephiroth had a plan up his sleeve, because he had always had a surprise plan.

"To kill them?" Zack asked after the moment of silence.

Sephiroth didn't respond to the question. He stood in silence and let a small smile appear on his face that was hidden by his bangs from Zack and Lazard, but not from Claire and Serah. They could see it from their angle. It had confirmed Claire's suspicion.

Just as silence fell on the group again the buildings alarm went off and heavy armored shutters fell over the book shelves.

"An intruder," Lazard said from reflex "Sephiroth, the president!" Sephiroth nodded "Zack, Claire, entrance!" Zack and Claire nodded.

"Serah, stay here with Lazard," Sephiroth said before running to the elevators.

Claire was both angry and happy. Angry because whoever was attacking the building was interrupting Serah's visit and happy because she was going to be able to test out her new weapon which she had already classified and named. Claire was going to use her Gunblade, Blaze Edge, for the first time.

**Readers, please consider this, should Lightning go to Nibelheim? It will drastically alter the story both ways. The deadline for the 'voting' will be the chapter prior to that event. Please consider both options carefully.**


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as the elevator doors began sliding open, countless bullets ripped the steel to shreds, almost severely injuring Claire and Zack. The two first class SOLDIER members flew out of the elevator at the very moment the bullets stopped slicing through the weak doors.

The two stood dumbfounded by the sight that rudely greeted their eyes. The entrance to the building was completely destroyed and Shinra sweepers were swarming the area, shooting at all the Shinra infantry men. Four squads of six infantry men had fallen to the rogue sweepers and the two elite fighters were the next target of the sweepers.

"Why are Shinra weapons attacking the Shinra building?" Zack shouted out of surprised realization.

"How the hell should I know?" Claire shouted back before charging towards the rogue machines. Just as Claire reached the first machine a Genesis copy leaped out of a door at her.

"Look out!" Zack shouted over the gunfire. Claire ducked low and shoved Blaze Edge at the gut of the copy, impaling it. Zack ran over quickly to help.

Zack pulled the attention of several sweepers towards him. He was tasked with dodging a rain of bullets from the sweepers while Claire short-circuited them with a burst of lightning magic. One by one the machines fell from fried circuits. Luckily, Zack had not taken any hits and still had his boundless energy.

The two ran down the lobby stairs to the front doors, where a huge gaping hole now took refuge. Genesis copies and sweepers were pouring in through the hole and would be more than enough to slaughter everyone in the building. That is if there were not any SOLDIER members on the premises. Bullets and thunder spells filled the lobby of the building as Claire and Zack destroyed the rogue sweepers and defeated the Genesis copies.

After the flood of enemies had been effectively ceased, the elevator that had not been shredded dinged. Shortly after, Zack and Claire turned to see Sephiroth approaching.

"Sephiroth!" Zack half shouted "The intruders are Genesis copies."

"Hollander must be behind this," Sephiroth said without responding to Zack.

"Hollander?" Claire asked.

"A former scientist that vanished after the cloning technology disappeared," Sephiroth answered swiftly.

"So Hollander and Genesis are working together?" Zack asked, looking between Claire and Sephiroth.

"Perhaps," Sephiroth replied.

Zack crossed his arms and dropped his head "What is it they're after?" The floor did not respond to the black haired warrior. However, Sephiroth did.

"Hollander lost his bid for the leadership of the Science Department. He has, most likely, been harboring a grudge against Shinra ever since. Revenge must be his objective."

"That's just petty," Claire said loudly.

"Are you saying Genesis is supporting that idiotic cause?" Zack said in an offended tone. Claire wanted to say it would not surprise her, but kept her thought where it belonged.

"I would prefer not to believe it, but ..." Sephiroth had turned away from the two and let his gaze fall to the floor.

"Then don't believe it," Zack and Claire almost said in unison.

"Very well," Sephiroth said flatly "Now, Zack. Genesis copies have been sighted in Sector Eight as well," The tall soldier began walking towards the door as he spoke "Let's go," Claire was about to follow "Claire, go back to Serah and Lazard. Zack and I will deal with the streets.

Claire followed Sephiroth's orders and sprinted back up to the shredded elevator and hit the button for the floor of the Directors Office. The elevator drifted upwards, the digital display above the door counting the floors. When the hole filled doors dinged open, Claire calmly walked out and found Lazard still at his desk, Serah sitting on one of the chairs, the alarm still screeching and the emergency lights still shining.

"Where is Zack and Sephiroth?" Lazard asked as if they had gone on break.

"They went into sector eight, to clear the streets," Claire replied. Lazard nodded

Time crawled as Claire stood and waited for Sephiroth and Zack to return, and the alarms to stop screeching. An hour slowly ticked by as Lazard, Claire and Sarah stood in the white office. Director Lazard kept an eye on the event through his terminal and promised to tell the girls when the building was safe.

Suddenly, Claire's SOLDIER issue phone rang loudly.

"Claire," Sephiroth said in a commanding tone "Tell Lazard another group of hostiles are inbound. I am returning from reactor five. Do not leave Lazard's office. Got it? Stay there, it is much safer than engaging these enemies," the call went silent before Claire could ask anything. She to Lazard to deliver Sephiroth's warning and a moment later Lazard was informing the entire building of the incoming attack.

Another hour crawled by as alarms sounded, the building trembled from many fights and Claire was beginning to lose her patience. She paced back around the office, closely studied the large bookshelves, stood guard at the elevator, and talked to Serah. Eventually, the elevator doors opened and in walked Sephiroth, looking no worse than when he left.

"I hope it was peaceful in here. A few of the other floors will take months to repair," Sephiroth said with a shrug. Lazard just nodded to Sephiroth and went back to his paperwork.

"Why did you tell me to stay with the Director?" Claire asked as the elevator slid towards the SOLDIER floor.

"Because we cannot allow any harm to come to him. Besides if you left who would've protected Serah?" Sephiroth asked with a slightly harsh tone. Claire knew it was because he was stressed out about the attack but was still hurt by the tone. When they reached the soldier floor, Sephiroth called for Serah's escort and proceeded to fill out his report.

A few weeks melded together into a long time of training. Claire tried with all her might to become stronger and faster so she could at least match Genesis' records in the simulator. She was also noticing something in Sephiroth. His temper seemed to be getting worse very slowly but he was on edge much more often. Several times Claire saw Sephiroth take his phone out of his pocket look at the display and hang up on whoever was calling. The young pink haired SOLDIER wished she could see what was going on in the legend's head. On the day she decided to ask Sephiroth about what was wrong, she heard he shut himself in the data room. Rumors said he was researching the history of the Shinra Science Department.

On a day of regular patrols, a helicopter landed near Claire. A young looking Turk with his black hair in a small ponytail, stepped out and walked up to Claire.

"Lightning," the Turk said with a nod.

"Who are you?" Claire asked sternly.

"Tseng, of the Turks. I came to get your assistance for a mission in Modeoheim."

"Well, I am not interested in helping you in Modeoheim," Claire retorted. After hearing stories of the Turks, Claire really did not want anything to do with them.

"I did not ask for your assistance, I am drafting it. Now get in," Tseng said in a commanding tone and with a neutral expression.

Claire complied and climbed into the helicopter. She was surprised to see Zack and two Shinra infantry men. The young pink haired SOLDIER sat next to Zack and Tseng sat next to the infantry. The helicopter flew out of the city and over to the Northern Continent. As they approached the outskirts of Modeoheim an explosion roughly shook the helicopter, making a loud beeping start and sending the transport into a spin. Each passenger was able to get clear of the chopper before it smashed into the snow, except the pilot.

Zack was the first to wake up from the crash. He made a noise to imply how annoyed he was.

"Well, that's a fine how-do-you-do!" the black haired SOLDIER said as he climbed to his feet. Claire was also starting to stand up "Okay, you are right there," Zack said to Claire, then glanced around the area in front of him "Tseng! Hey, guys!" he and Claire turned around and saw the other three passengers and the wrecked helicopter behind them. Tseng took out his phone and held it up to his ear.

"No signal out here," he stated as if the helicopter crash was an everyday occurance.

"At least we're all in one piece, except the pilot," Claire said to the group.

"Thankfully, we have someone used to this kind of terrain," Tseng stated.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a country boy..." Zack said with a shrug.

"All right, then. We would have reached Modeoheim by now if we hadn't crashed. So we're going to need to make up for lost time," Tseng said as he walked by the SOLDIER members. Zack took the lead and turned to talk.

"All right, follow me then!" Zack sounded a bit too happy for Claire's liking.

After following the mountain path for several minutes, Claire and Tseng fell behind Zack and one of the infantry men. The other Shinra soldier had fallen behind Tseng and Claire.

"Yo! Don't fall too far behind!" Zack shouted to the others.

"First time in this terrain?" Tseng asked Claire. He could see her shivering.

"Our missions usually don't take us this far north," Claire replied forcing the shiver out of her voice. She saw Zack talking and laughing with the Shinra soldier that had managed to pace him, while they waited for her, Tseng, and the other soldier.

"Good news, Tseng!" Zack shouted "Me and…" the soldier removed his helmet, but all Claire could see was his blond hair "Me and Cloud here are both backwater experts. Oh yeah!" Claire could not help but smile at Zack's immaturity.

"Good. Carry on then," Tseng said just as the two soldiers began walking again.

When Claire, Tseng and the other Shinra infantry man caught up to Zack and Cloud they saw the blond and raven haired soldiers crouched down and looking at the base they had come to investigate. Zack and Cloud stood at the sound of the other three and Claire quickly studied Cloud. The blond had spiky hair, was shorter than Zack but taller than her, and looked no older than Claire.

"That's a mako excavation test site," Tseng stated motioning to the base.

"We'll go check it out," Zack matched Tseng's official tone and motioned to himself and Claire.

"Just remember, Our primary objective is to investigate Modeoheim," Tseng reminded the SOLDIERs "We can't afford to lose any more people here. At the same time, we can't ignore the activities of the Genesis Army. Therefor-"

"Infiltrate while avoiding combat," Claire said in her classic flat tone "Think you can handle that?" Claire directed the comment towards Zack. The tall SOLDIER replied with a roll of his eyes and a smirk.

"The intel said there is an entrance at the back of the warehouse. Once you two are inside the facility, do as you wish but try to keep a low profile."

"All right," Zack said in his cheerful tone "Lightning, lets prove that SOLDIER isn't all about muscle and brawn."

"But that's all you are good for," Claire muttered under her breath.

"You watch carefully too, Cloud. Especially watch Lightning, she's Sephiroth student after all," Claire saw Cloud's eyes widen at what Zack said then the blond quickly nodded.

As Claire and Zack made their way down to the base, Zack asked Claire to take the lead. The pink haired SOLDIER took point not because of Zack's request but because she knew Zack had constantly failed the stealth training simultaions. She also knew, Zack knew, that she knew that. With Claire leading, they successfully infiltrated the facility undetected. After heading down a flight a stairs, the duo came face to face with an old lift. They opened the gate, stepped in, closed the gate and Zack pushed the button to make the lift descend. When the lift slid to a stop a strange sight met them.

Genesis was holding his sword so its point was at the throat of a large man in a lab coat, who she assumed to be Hollander. The sight of Genesis is what caught Claire off guard. Streaks of white through his hair, pale skin, and his coat was starting to turn white above his elbows.

"What's the meaning of this?" Hollander stuttered "You need me, Genesis, remember that. If you get rid of me, who's going to stop the degradation?"

"The Jenova cells," Genesis replied as Zack and Claire forced the gate on the lift open. Claire sprinted forward and slashed at Genesis' sword, knocking it away from Hollander.

"But … nobody knows where the Jenova cells are being kept!" Hollander nearly shouted in surprise as he stood behind Zack "Not even Hojo knows. You'll never find it!"

"Then I shall willingly accept my fate," Genesis stated in his poetic tone "But, I'll take the world with me!" Genesis charged, with a downward slash, at Zack who blocked the blow. Hollander took off running and Genesis pulled away from Zack.

"Zack, go after him," Claire commanded "I will keep Genesis off your back."

Zack looked between Claire and Genesis several times before placing his sword on his back and starting his pursuit of the scientist. Genesis watched Zack leave the area and slowly turned back to Claire, a look of amusement in his eyes.

"So I finally get to fight Sephiroth's student. I am going to enjoy ridding SOLDIER of you, slum rat."

Genesis charged forward with a horizontal slash aimed at Claire's neck. Claire brought Blaze Edge up to block the attack and slid three feet when Genesis' sword crashed into hers.

"Just tell me one thing then, you poetry quoting jackass," Claire growled through gritted teeth "Why do you despise me?"

**All I can say is, I am so sorry for how long it took to update this story. I have no excuse for why this took so long to appear. Just every time I sat down to write this chapter I would write a sentence or two then lose all interest. But this story is being continued and the next chapter should not take anywhere near as long as this one did.**

**Again, I am truly sorry about the wait.**

**Please leave a review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Should have said this last chapter in either the story or an Author's Note, Claire and Cloud are sixteen at this point in the story. Just so you all know.**

**WARNING: Some offensive language is present in this chapter!**

"So I finally get to fight Sephiroth's student. I am going to enjoy ridding SOLDIER of you, slum rat."

Genesis charged forward with a horizontal slash aimed at Claire's neck. Claire brought Blaze Edge up to block the attack and slid three feet when Genesis' sword crashed into hers.

"Just tell me one thing then, you poetry quoting jackass," Claire growled through gritted teeth "Why do you despise me?"

"Why do I despise you?" Genesis chuckled as he withdrew his red bladed sword "You and your sister were the unwanted children of a spineless lapdog and a harlot," Genesis lunged at Claire again and delivered a series of slashes. Claire was able to block every blow, but each one felt like it had the force of a truck behind it.

"You're lying!" Claire shouted at the red clad SOLDIER.

"_Mister_ Farron," He spat the word Mister "Was the head of Urban Development and spent every minute trying to get into the president's lap. It's because of him there is so many people in the slums," Genesis told Claire as their swords clashed together several times.

"Shut up! You know nothing about my parents!" Claire shouted as she blocked Genesis' attacks and tried to slip her attacks through Genesis' defense.

"_Missus_ Farron, on the other hand," Genesis also spat Missus.

"I said shut up!" Claire had actually screamed as she ran at Genesis with Blaze Edge raised.

"Your mother was the Shinra harlot. Giving it away to any and every executive on a regular basis, just like one of Corneo's two cent whores."

"Shut up!" the red rapier sliced through the air as Genesis spoke, clanging off of Blaze Edge every time. Genesis could see how worn down Claire was becoming.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I had the misfortune of walking in on her _servicing_ the president,"

"Shut up you bastard!" Claire screamed as she once again charged at Genesis.

Every slash Claire sent towards Genesis was easily blocked. Every slash from Genesis, Claire diverted instead of outright blocking because it was much easier on her arms. Claire launched a horizontal slash at Genesis who halted her attack with his red rapier and grabbed a handful of her hair with his left hand. Claire flinched as Genesis yanked her head back giving Genesis just enough time to slam the hand guard of his sword into the side of Claire's face, the wing like design on the hilt gashed into the top of her head, opening another cut. She stumbled back several steps and was trying very hard to blink away the stars and stay on her feet. Genesis took his chance and placed a long, deep slash on both of Claire's biceps and thighs. After falling victim to the slashes, Claire fell to the floor and rolled onto her side.

Genesis walked up her, kicked Blaze Edge out of her reach and stood above her. Claire looked up at the former SOLDIER that she severely underestimated. A large black feathered wing sprouted from the left side of his back and the look of absolute hatred remained on his face.

"Daughter of a lapdog," Genesis sent a hard kick into the young girl's ribs, forcing the air out of her "Daughter of a Shinra whore," another kick landed in Claire's ribs, breaking two of them "Slum rat," another kick, making the pink haired teen roll onto her back "Your name is a stain on SOLDIER's banner and I will erase it," Genesis placed his left foot on Claire's throat and applied just enough pressure to stop her from breathing "I am glad you didn't follow your mother's sinful footsteps, but then again, there is still time for your sister to destroy what respect you earned for your name."

Claire wanted to scream at Genesis, grab her sword and take his head off his shoulders for saying that. However, she had no strength to even get Genesis' foot off her throat and she needed air desperately. Her lungs ached for some oxygen, her cuts needed treatment, and she needed something for her ribs. Genesis just stared down at her, watching her struggle for air, her eyes slowly close, blood seep out of the deep cuts, and life slowly leave the young girl.

"Lightning!" Claire heard two male voices shout, right before a series of gunshots. Genesis stepped off Claire's throat and and stumbled back as she coughed and hungrily devoured the refreshing air.

"_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. Pride is lost wings stripped away, the end is nigh,_" Genesis quoted as he fell to his hands and knees "Such is… the fate of a monster."

"You're SOLDIER, where's your honor?" Cloud asked the wounded SOLDIER, who struggled to his feet.

"_Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return_," Genesis quoted as he shuffled back towards the railing, his breathing labored because of the gunshot wounds "If this world seeks me destruction…" with a flap of his wing, he lifted into the air and landed on the railing "… it goes with me," Genesis let himself fall backwards off the railing and into the abyss below, still clutching his sword.

Tseng stood at the railing and waited for something to happen but unsurprisingly, nothing did occur. He turned to Cloud, who was helping Claire to her feet and holding her weapon.

"Cloud take her outside, I'm going to use the comm equipment in here to call in a chopper," Cloud nodded his understanding and started to help the SOLDIER girl over to the lift.

It took a long while for Cloud and Claire to make their way out of Genesis' base but Claire had been unable to any faster than baby steps. The deep cuts on her arms, legs, and head stung worse than any other injury Claire had received in the past. She mentally kicked herself for not taking Zack's advice on taking healing materia because she had deemed this mission as unimportant, seeing as how she was told they were investigating. Claire caught Cloud staring at her on more than one occasion, she knew he wanted to ask about Sephiroth but he could see it was a bad time.

When they emerged outside, Zack was waiting for them. The other Shinra soldier that had been with them had his gun trained on Hollander and Claire could see the Buster Sword on Zack's back, the SOLDIER sword in his hand. Zack's blank expression told her exactly what had happened.

Within minutes, Tseng was with them and they could all hear the helicopter's rotor. Turns out the Shinra company had sent a second chopper the moment they lost contact with the first.

* * *

Weeks passed by as Zack and Claire mourned Angeal. Zack still would not tell Claire what happened and she respected Zack's wishes by dropping the subject. Both young SOLDIERs were put on standby and Sephiroth was now stationed in Junon, where Hollander was being kept. Zack had volunteered to train the new SOLDIER recruits, having nothing else to do and Claire took time off to be with Serah, when her sister wanted to come to Midgar.

A few months later school was out for the winter break, which made Claire triple check her calendar. The only weather Midgar received was sunny and dry or hot and rainy. Claire had called Sephiroth to let him know Serah was going to be Midgar for a couple of weeks but he just said to give her his best. The tone in which Sephiroth had said that broke Claire's heart, there was zero emotion in it, not even any subtle hints. Sephiroth, the Farron's adoptive father, had changed after he learned what happened in Modeoheim. Claire hoped Serah did not notice, but there never was any hiding information from her sister.

"Claire?" Serah asked her sister as they sat in the cafe "What happened to Seth? I haven't received any letters from him in forever."

"Serah…" Claire wanted to tell her sister about Modeoheim, but did not know how to tell her "Gen and Angie… they're dead," Serah gasped. It pained Claire to use the, rather unimaginative, code names for them, but the two sisters had to use code names for their own safety.

"How? When?"

"A few months ago. I don't really want to talk about this, okay?" Claire said to her sister, it was because of what Genesis had said about their parents that made her dodge the topic. Serah could see the obvious misery of the topic in her sisters eyes.

"So what is Zack up to?" Serah asked with a forced smile.

"He has been training new recruits and seeing his girlfriend when he has time," Claire was happy to be talking about something else "He said he has a forced vacation in a month or two."

"To where?"

"Costa del Sol," Claire just tuned out her sister's rant about how amazing it would be to spend time in Costa del Sol, if Claire would take her there, that Claire should also go somewhere for her vaction, and that she really wants to go there. Claire could not help but chuckle at her sister.

"So what do you want for Christmas?" Claire asked her ranting sister.

"What?"

"I'll get you whatever you want," Claire told her sister "As long as you are able to take it back to Bodhum."

"That's not how Christmas works, Claire," Serah said with an insulted tone.

"Well, I don't know what you are into anymore so I thought I save myself the headache and just blow a few thousand gil on you."

"A few… _thousand_?" Serah whispered the last word "How much are you paid?"

"More than I know what to do with," Claire was completely honest with that statement. First class SOLDIER Operatives were paid a ridiculous amount, their food and accommodations were supplied by the company, so really all SOLDIERs had to pay for was their toiletries, which barely affected Claire's bank account. Claire assumed the high pay was mainly for physical and mental health medical bills.

"Then we'll go shopping tomorrow," Serah told her sister.

On the day Serah had to return to Bodhum, Claire could not bear to see her sister leave. She tears roll down her cheeks until her eyes burned and took her time returning to the Shinra building. After stopping by a bank, Claire found out she had effectively drained nearly ten thousand gil in just under two weeks from her account. The fact that Claire insisted that she and Serah stay in an expensive hotel for the two weeks, did not help. But her vacation was ending and her, as of late, very boring job would once again be priority one.

* * *

A few uneventful months slipped by and Director Lazard was accused of aiding Hollander and Genesis. Before he could be brought into custody, he vanished. Shortly after, Zack was sent to Costa del Sol. A few weeks later, Claire turned seventeen. She had always said that she never wanted anyone to make a big deal out of her birthday but when the only person she was contacted by was thousands of miles away in Bodhum, she retreated to her room and lay on her bunk.

The next day, Sephiroth returned to the SOLDIER floor. Claire had been reading one of the many books Sephiroth had given her in the lounge area, when a narrow box landed in her lap.

"Happy Birthday, Lightning," She looked up and saw Sephiroth "I would have called yesterday but Junon was attacked by Genesis copies. Open it," Sephiroth was indicating the box on her lap.

Claire complied and carefully undid the bow holding the box closed and slid the lid off. Inside was a silver bar shaped like a bolt of lightning. It had two small diamonds and a very light red ruby in the corners of the bolt and a gold and black square also in the corners.*****

"Thank you," Claire genuinely liked the necklace.

"Well I need to get some rest because I have only slept for four hours in the last three days. Enjoy your book," With that Sephiroth left. Claire had wanted to ask about the Junon attack, but it would have to wait.

The next day, Zack and Claire were called to the briefing room by Sephiroth. When the two were at the door Zack looked over and saw Claire's necklace. The black haired SOLDIER asked about it and Claire replied with a stale tone. They ceased being friends after Modeoheim and neither knew why but both were too afraid of what the other might say if they talked about it. They walked into the room and Sephiroth jumped right into briefing them on the mission.

"Legions of Monsters have spawned near a regional mako reactor. The workers have all gone missing. Local SOLDIER operatives have also vanished. The company is dispatching additional operatives to investigate the matter. The three of us, that is," Claire noticed something about Sephiroth's demeanor, she could not quite place her finger on it though.

"Roger that…" Zack said in a rude tone. Claire saw surprise cross Sephiroth's face at the way Zack spoke to him.

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked the black haired operative.

"Well, you know… I thought you found something out about…" Zack glanced to Claire, who was wondering why he did that "That other matter."

"The missing operatives were the ones tracking Lazard," Sephiroth replied as if he were pointing out something "Also they had reported a strange podlike device in the area," Claire was stepping into a whole new realm of confused.

"Is that… Hollander's?" Zack asked with some surprise.

"Probably the same device that was stolen in Modeoheim."

"What? When did that happen?" Both men looked at Claire.

"That's not important anymore," was Sephiroth's reply.

"As you were saying," Zack said to Sephiroth.

"Lazard, Hollander…"

"… and Genesis?" Claire looked at Zack and hoped this was not going where she thought it was.

"We'll have to go see them," Sephiroth said to Zack.

"Someone tell me what is going on, is Genesis still alive?" the anger that had been simmering since their encounter in Modeoheim had just flared and made Claire growl the question.

"We don't know for certain but it is suspected," Sephiroth said to Claire "You two should start getting ready," with that Claire and Zack started to leave, before they got to the door however "Our orders are to investigate the reactor. They mention nothing of… old friends."

"Sephiroth?" Claire asked, she was afraid of what he was about to say.

"Depending on what happens, I may abandon Shinra," the silver haired legend was not looking at either of Zack or Claire but he knew they were stunned "Until then, I'll remain loyal to SOLDIER. Now get ready to leave, we're going to be gone for a couple of days."

As Zack and Claire stepped out the elevator and started heading to their rooms, Zack finally threw off his thoughtful look.

"What are you gonna do if Sephiroth bails?" Zack asked the shorter SOLDIER "I am going to stick with company, if it comes down to it."

"If Sephiroth joins Genesis," Claire was surprised she did not growl _his_ name "I'm resigning. And maybe I'll buy a house in Bodhum, for me and my sister."

"That's quite a noble choice," Zack commented.

"With the ways things are going, it wouldn't surprise me if Shinra dissolved SOLDIER in a couple of years," Claire was actually surprised that SOLDIER had not been shut down already.

After twenty minutes, the group for the mission was assembled. Three Shinra infantry stood at attention with Zack and Claire standing at ease to one side. Zack had told Claire that they were working with Cloud again, Claire honestly had no idea who he was talking about, so Zack reminded her that it was Cloud that had to help her walk out of Modeoheim. Claire was _thrilled_ about knowing that blond kid was in the group.

Sephiroth walked up to them, and carefully inspected the group. Zack got restless and finally asked the question Claire had been meaning to.

"By the way, where are we going?" Sephiroth was silent for a moment then turned to Zack and Claire.

"To Nibelheim."

***Lightning's necklace.**

**I know what you are all thinking, "An update? So soon? The world must be ending!"**

**I honestly cannot wait to write the next few chapters, but they are going to require some careful planning.**

**Oh yeah, sorry if I offended anyone with some of the language in the beginning of the chapter. But hey, the FF7 world isn't exactly the most family friendly place.**

**Please leave a Review. They make me happy, and I write more when I'm happy.**


	10. Chapter 10

The helicopter that had been carrying the six military personnel landed in the plains a long distance away from the Nibel mountains. A large Shinra army truck was waiting for them and the six soldiers climbed into the back. Zack had offered his hand to Claire but she just ignored it as she climbed up the rear of the truck. Once the tailgate was flipped closed and locked, the engine roared to life and they were on their way again.

"Why did we switch to a truck anyways?" Claire asked as it rumbled and bounced over the grassy plain. Sephiroth turned to her to answer but Cloud spoke first.

"Dragons are native to the Nibel mountain range."

"We would have been torn out of the sky," Sephiroth continued "We should try to get comfortable, it's going to be a couple hours until we reach Nibelheim.

The large truck rolled to a stop just outside the village of Nibelheim. Sephiroth ordered the third Shinra soldier to return to Shinra's outpost with the driver of the truck, in order to protect the vehicle. The other five walked into the town with Sephiroth leading, Cloud and the other soldier flanking the silver-haired hero, with Zack and Claire in tow.

"So, how does it feel?" Sephiroth asked, seemingly to the air before looking over his shoulder to Cloud "To be home after all this time? I have no hometown. I wouldn't know," Cloud just shrugged at the silver haired operative.

"Uh… what about family?" Zack asked shortly after Sephiroth spoke. Sephiroth turned around to look at Zack.

"My mother's name is Jenova," Claire instantly thought back to her confrontation with Genesis, it reminded her of two things, Jenova cells and what Genesis had said about her parents "She died shortly after I was born. My father…" Sephiroth started to laugh and shake his head "Why am I talking about this?" he turned back towards the town once he stopped laughing "Come on, let's go," with that said, Sephiroth, Cloud and the other soldier walked into the small village.

"Sephiroth's mother's name is Jenova?" Zack wondered aloud.

"Has to be just a coincidence," Claire said to Zack before following the other three. Clearly Zack also remembered what Genesis had said in Modeoheim as well. The young female SOLDIER felt a knot appear in her stomach as well as a feeling that said something bad is going to happen.

As Zack and Claire joined Sephiroth in front of the inn a girl, the same age as Claire, approached them. Claire quickly looked her over, as did Zack and Sephiroth. Black hair, brown eyes, cowboy hat, leather vest, button down top that showed off her middle, short leather skirt with a large black belt and leather cowboy boots. It took a lot of effort for Claire to not raise an eyebrow at the girls odd choice of clothing.

"Are you the SOLDIER people who've come to investigate?" the girl asked, Claire was surprised that the girl didn't seem intimidated at all.

"Yes, we are," Claire responded to her, in a less than friendly tone.

"Why do you ask?" Zack asked in a very friendly tone.

"Are there a lot of SOLDIER First Classes?" the girl asked them. All three SOLDIER operatives felt a pang of hurt at the question, although, Claire's was only for Angeal.

"No, we're a small elite group," Zack answered.

"They only sent three of you?" Claire cocked an eyebrow at the girl. The young pink haired girl wondered how much this country girl knew about SOLDIER.

"Yeah, us and Sephiroth," Zack answered again.

"Oh," was the girl's disappointed reply and she started to walk away. Claire and Zack looked to each other and shrugged not even trying to figure out the girl's words. She turned back after a few steps, her mouth open to say something but she just slowly closed it, shook her head, then inexplicably ran off.

"Weird girl," Zack stated as he crossed his arms.

"I agree," Claire said flatly. The two SOLDIERs turned back to Sephiroth.

"We depart for the reactor at dawn. Only one of you needs to keep watch, so make sure you get some sleep," Sephiroth said to them before opening the door to the inn.

"Why do we have to keep watch?" Claire asked Sephiroth. He turned to her before answering.

"Because I don't want to have to get out of bed," Sephiroth chuckled as he was about walk inside the inn "Ah, that's right," he looked at Cloud over his shoulder "You have permission to go visit family and friends, if you so wish," with that said, Sephiroth went inside the inn.

"What?" Claire said in a confused tone.

"Well that's… that's just unfair," Zack said as he hung his head in defeat. He then turned to Cloud "Why are you wearing the mask?" he asked Cloud. Cloud turned his head away from the SOLDIERs.

"It's… personal," Cloud said quietly. Claire assumed it had something to do with the weird girl but did not particularly care.

"Weirdo," was Zack's response to Cloud.

"I'll take second watch," Claire said to Zack, who swiftly turned to her.

"What? What am I supposed to do until your shift then?" Zack asked quickly.

"I don't know. Go find a ball to play with," Claire said back, making fun of Zack's nickname. Zack just gave the girl a look that had 'not amused' written all over it. She inside the inn and up the stairs only to find Sephiroth looking out a window.

"What are you looking at?" Claire asked in her emotionless tone.

"This landscape… I could swear I've seen it before," Sephiroth's tone indicated he was deep in thought but Claire told herself there was no better time to ask.

"Did you know my parents?" Sephiroth looked down at Claire and she knew he was about to ask why she had asked "In Modeoheim, Genesis said some… things about my parents," Sephiroth already knew what Genesis had said, mainly because he, Angeal, and Genesis used to make fun of the two Farron's.

"Yes, I knew them. And what Genesis said about them…" Sephiroth looked away from Claire and back out the window "Every word was true. But what they did doesn't matter, what does, is what you do with your life and how you can help Serah with hers."

Claire stared out the window as she stood there numbly beside Sephiroth. For years she had been wanting to know the truth about her parents and she always thought she would cry when someone finally told her, especially if it was bad news. However, no tears fell, they did not even form. Claire had no idea why tears refused to appear but she was sure of two things. Serah was happy with the life that had been given to her by the silver elite and Claire missed her chance to grow up with her sister, who was now little more than an acquaintance. That is what made tears form in her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly.

"Sephiroth?" Claire said quietly, she knew he had turned to face her "I have a very bad feeling."

"Why?" Claire knew his eyebrow was raised.

"I don't know. I just feel like something terrible is going to happen."

"Claire," Sephiroth started, he only used her real name now to comfort her "This is a routine investigation. What could possibly happen?" Claire just shook her head at Sephiroth's question "Go get some rest."

Claire was woken up by Zack shaking her arm. She routinely got up and off the bed, attached the sheath for Blaze Edge to her SOLDIER belt and stretched before heading over to the door. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard Zack behind her. The sun streaming through the blinds and the two Shinra soldiers getting ready puzzled her. _Did Zack stay up all night?_ She ignored the question for now and proceeded out of room and out of the inn.

"Why didn't you wake me up for watch?" Claire asked Zack as they headed over to the Shinra Mansion, as the locals called it.

"I was going to but Sephiroth woke up and said he would keep watch," that just further puzzled Claire. Sephiroth was waiting for them outside the gate with the weird girl "Tifa! You're our guide?" Zack had clearly learned weird girl's name while Claire had been asleep.

"At your service!" Tifa said cheerfully "Nobody is a better guide than me in this town," Tifa took off her hat and began smoothing her hair down, causing Zack and Claire to look around and spot a man with a camera.

Zack crossed his arms and took a stoic stance, Tifa just held her hat and smiled, Claire leaned on her left leg and put her left hand on her hip, Sephiroth just kept his hands at his sides, the Masamune extended behind him.

"Okay… Say cheese!" the man with camera said, but none of the four made a noise. A click and a flash later, the four turned to head to the mountain path.

The path up Mount Nibel was treacherous. Pure Mako energy rising out of large holes in the path, the occasional narrow strip of ground, jagged rocks as sharp as swords randomly jutting out of the path, and all manner of monsters, the worst of which was a flying imp ball that the locals called Bombs. The imp balls were named that for the simple fact of, they violently explode at will. With Sephiroth leading, Zack and Claire in tow, no monster proved to be a threat. When the group arrived at the Mako Reactor, Sephiroth immediately started up the stairs.

"I want to go inside and look, too!" Tifa said loudly. Sephiroth turned around to speak.

"This is a top-secret facility. Non-Shinra personnel are not permitted inside."

"But-" Tifa began.

"Keep the young lady safe," Sephiroth said to the masked Cloud.

Zack and Claire proceeded up the stairs behind Sephiroth. When the trio entered the main chamber of the reactor, it was an unnerving sight. Six large pods on either side of a staircase with a large door at the top. Claire stayed at the bottom of the stairs while the other two went to the top. The sign above the door at the top of the stairs was not helping Claire's foreboding feeling. The sign was just six capitol letters engraved in the metal, JENOVA.

Zack and Sephiroth went to the top, took a very brief look around and came back down the stairs. Sephiroth went to the pod at the bottom and just to the left of the staircase.

"This is the cause of the malfunction. This section is broken" Sephiroth stated "Lightning, go seal the valve," Claire went over to a large wheel on one of the many pipes and tuned it "Why did it break?" Sephiroth asked himself.

The three SOLDIER operatives inspected the other pods, checking for any breaks or leaks. When it was determined that only one of the pods was damaged the rejoined near the pod just to the right of the bottom of the stairs. Sephiroth looked in through the small window and stepped away. Zack then decided to take a look himself and then stepped away quickly.

"What is that?" Zack asked in a very freaked out tone. Zack's tone is what made Claire take a look, she could not help but agree with Zack on this one.

"You average SOLDIER members are mako-infused humans," both Zack and Claire turned to Sephiroth as he spoke "You're enhanced, but you're still human. But then, what are those things? Their mako energy levels are exponentially higher than yours."

"Are they…" Zack just trailed off as he leaned forward to take another look.

"Monsters?" Claire finished for Zack. Sephiroth walked away, but stopped in front of the stairs.

"Yes. The Shinra scientist Hojo was the one who created them," Sephiroth turned to the younger SOLDIER's who had followed him to the stairs "Abominations spawned by mako energy… That's what monsters are," Sephiroth's tone had taken on a dark edge at the end.

"You said 'average' member. What about you?" Claire felt like kicking Zack for asking that, she did not know why though. Sephiroth turned away from them and covered his face with his hands as he took a few uneven steps.

"Could it be… that I?" Sephiroth took his hands away from his face and stared at them "Was created the same way? Am I the same as these monsters?" silence fell between them for several moments before Sephiroth spoke again "I knew, ever since I was a child… I was not like the others. I knew mine was a special existence. But this… This was not what I meant. Am I… a human being?"

"No such luck. You are a monster," a soft poetic voice said.

Zack and Claire were hit by powerful fire spells before they had time to react. Sephiroth was able to erect a shield in front of himself, negating the fire spell. A man with a long red coat, faded across the shoulders, and a large black wing landed on the stairs above the incapacitated Zack and Claire.

"Sephiroth… You were the greatest monster created by the Jenova Project."

"Genesis…" Zack half whimpered from the pain.

"You are alive!" Claire shouted not making any attempt to hide her anger. Genesis looked down at her and gave a half smile.

"I suppose I am, if you can call this living," Genesis said as he ran his fingers down his cheek.

"What is the Jenova Project?" Sephiroth asked, ignoring the wounded SOLDIER operatives.

"The Jenova Project was the term used for all experiments relating to the use of Jenova's cells," Genesis explained.

"My mother's… cells?"

"Poor little Sephiroth. You've never actually met your mother. You've only been told her name, no?" Genesis sat down on the stairs, just outside of Claire's reach "I don't know what images you've conjured up in your head, but…"

"Genesis!" Claire growled. He was doing the same thing to Sephiroth that he did to her in Modeoheim.

"Jenova," Genesis said loud enough to be heard over Claire "Was excavated from a two thousand year old rock layer. She's a monster," Sephiroth let out a breath and stepped back as if he had been struck "Sephiroth… I need your help. My body is continuing to degrade," Genesis stood up "SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth!" Genesis walked down the stairs, around Claire "Jenova Project G gave birth to Angeal and monsters like myself," Genesis' tone had a hint of smugness in it "Jenova Project S-"

"S?" Zack questioned the air. He and Claire were recovering from the attack but not fast enough.

"-used the remains of countless failed experiments to create a perfect monster," Genesis continued, not hearing Zack's question.

"What do you want of me?" Sephiroth asked in his soldier tone.

"Your traits cannot be copied unto others. Your genes can't be diffused. Therefor, your body cannot degrade," Genesis smiled up at the ceiling as he spoke the last point. He walked over beside Sephiroth before continuing "Share your cells with me. _My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess_," Genesis pulled a dumbapple out of his coat and held it out to Sephiroth, who turned to him and looked up at the JENOVA sign then back to Genesis.

"Whether your words… Are lies created to deceive me… Or the truth, that I have sought all my life," Claire could hear the confusion and pain in Sephiroth's tone "It makes no difference," Sephiroth swatted the dumbapple out of Genesis' hand "You will rot," Sephiroth then left the chamber and those inside.

"I see… Perfect monster, indeed. _Estuans interius ira vehementi. Sors immanis et inanis. Venias, ne me mori facias,_" Genesis quoted something Claire did not recognize as he walked out of the chamber.

"No! Stop!" Zack yelled as he struggled to his feet and stumbled after Genesis. Claire soon followed him.

When Zack and Claire got out of the reactor, both Sephiroth and Genesis were nowhere to be seen. However, there were three Genesis copies attacking Cloud and Tifa. There were two weak copies in red versions of the Shinra soldier uniforms and a large armored copy with a scythe. Before either SOLDIER was able to help, Cloud was hit by a spell from the large armored copy and fell to the ground. Being SOLDIER First Class, Zack and Claire quickly disposed of the Genesis copies.

"Tifa, help back to the village. Lightning and I will clear your path," Zack said to the girl.

He and Claire did exactly what Zack said they would and mercilessly vanquished any monsters and Genesis copies that got between them and the village. When they arrived back in the tiny village, Zack took the masked Cloud from Tifa and to the inn and Tifa asked around about Sephiroth. Claire stood watch out front of the inn, waiting for Tifa. It was about Midnight when Claire gave up waiting and wanted to get some sleep. She went inside woke up Zack, removed Blaze Edge and its sheath, then lay on top of the covers of the bed and promptly fell asleep. She woke up an hour after dawn and saw the blond just waking up as well.

"How are you feeling?" Claire asked in a detached way as she picked up Blaze Edge's sheath.

"I just need a bit more rest," Cloud said flatly.

As the pink haired SOLDIER walked out of the inn, she was nearly ambushed by Zack. He had told her that Tifa had told him that Sephiroth was up at the Shinra Mansion, so they went there themselves. It was a short walk from the village and the gate was open, confirming the information they got from the girl. Claire wasted no time on heading in but Zack stopped and pulled his phone out his pocket when Claire was out of earshot. Once Claire was opening the door to the mansion, Zack ran up behind her.

"Who was that?" she asked, referring to his phone call.

"My girlfriend," Zack said cheerfully. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Why such a short call?"

"Bad reception out here. I promised her I would go visit once we are done here," Zack said in his cheerful tone.

The two SOLDIERs scoured the building searching for their commanding officer but found nothing. They took a break in the room with the curved brick wall with a large sliding door in it. Wordlessly agreeing there was nowhere else to check, they opened the door and went down into the basement. The basement was cold, dry, and very stuffy, obviously did not have good air circulation in the slightest. The were doors in the walls but beyond each door was a collection of coffins. Neither SOLDIER wanted to get within ten feet of any of the coffins, so they let the caskets lie there and quietly shut the door behind them each time they found a room with coffins. At the end of the long cave, they found a library/lab.

Sephiroth was pacing back and forth reading a book and muttering what he read. Claire caught a few phrases like 'suspended animation' and 'Reactor One authorized for use' but most of the mutterings were incomprehensible. Both had tried to get Sephiroth's attention but it was like their calls fell on deaf ears. The two young SOLDIERs decided to keep watch at the mansion, sleeping in shifts and patrolling from the basement lab/library to the village.

For six days, the two SOLDIERs had broken sleep patterns, walked up and down a multitude of stairs, and waited for Sephiroth. For six days, the light in the basement never shut off, Sephiroth never stopped reading, the shelves were slowly left bare of books which had been put in piles scattered around the library. For six days, Sephiroth never left the mansion.

But on the seventh day…

**I know I am evil for leaving it there. Anyone know what Genesis quoted?**

**By the way, just wanted to let you all know that I am still taking suggestions for pairings.**

**As always, please leave a Review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here is the rewrite of chapter 11 for all of you. Hope you enjoy this edit.**

Sitting on the outskirts of Nibelheim leaning against a large rock, Claire enjoyed the silence of before dawn. The smell of the dew on the grass and the gentle country breeze slowly lulled her to sleep.

_Her steps echoed through the abyss as if she were walking down a cobblestone street. No light had any chance of penetrating this darkness. It was pure, unnatural, impossible. Claire's feet continued to move forward even though she was commanding them to stop, turn around, and run away. Trembling with fear, Claire walked further into the darkness, striding until her foot landed on something which snapped loudly under her boot._

"_Don't be afraid," A gentle feminine voice echoed. Claire looked down and saw a skeleton, glowing white in contrast to the abyss._

_Claire wanted to scream and run, but skeletons did not scare her. She had seen many things much worse than bleached white bones but she wanted to know why they frightened her now. Something drifted across her gaze and she focused on it. A large black feather, much to big to be from any bird including chocobos. Claire watched the feather drift lazily to the ground and turn into mist the moment it touched the ground. The pink haired soldier looked back up and was met with the sight of two glowing red eyes._

_The eyes held the same glow as any average SOLDIER member, but had an unnerving kindness. Kindness only present when it is being used to hide an ulterior motive. A hand slowly came out of the darkness, Claire assumed the hand belonged to the red eyes. The hand had flawless gray skin and nails painted black, it was palm up and open, as if asking Claire to take it. Claire started to reach out towards it, without telling her hand to do that and her eyes widened in fear._

"_Don't be afraid, Claire," the same feminine voice echoed "Reunion is upon us," Claire had almost reached the gray hand but at the last moment she was able to pull her hand away. The feminine voiced screeched and the glowing eyes and gray hand fell back into the darkness._

Claire's phone vibrating in her pocket snapped her out of dream. She quickly shook her head to wipe the memory of the dream away and pulled the phone out of her pocket. Without looking at the display, Claire flipped the phone open and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" Claire noticed that the sun was almost fully above the horizon.

"Hi Claire!" Serah said cheerfully, her voice distorted by the mountains "How have you been?" for a moment, Claire was curious as to why Serah was calling so early. Then she remembered that it was close to evening in Bodhum right now.

"I'm fine Serah. But why are you calling?" Claire was genuinely curious about that fact.

"Well I was going…" the call dropped for a moment "… and Sephiroth in Midgar for the weekend but they told me you were still in Nibelheim…" the call went silent again "… tried calling the last couple of days but I guess…" the call went silent a third time.

"Serah?" a muffled and static filled response answered Claire "I will call you when we go back to Midgar. The mountains here are interrupting the signal."

"Okay, talk to …" the call went dead before Claire could respond. The pink haired SOLDIER flipped the phone closed and dropped it back in her pocket. She leaned back against the large rock and tried desperately to erase the memory of the dream, the same one she has had the last four days. Deciding that it was best to be busy, Claire pushed herself to her feet.

Claire walked back through the village, up to the Shinra mansion's second floor, then down into the basement to check on Sephiroth. The silver haired operative was down to the last three report books, Claire noted as she turned and left. Dropping by the inn seemed like the best thing to do at the time, so Claire decided to check on Zack and Cloud. Cloud was standing out in front of the inn, just as he was assigned to do by Claire and Zack.

"Is Zack in there?" Claire asked the blond soldier that still refused to take of his mask.

"Yeah, I think he's still asleep though," Cloud replied "Uh, ma'am!" Cloud snapped a salute as he corrected himself. Claire just nodded to him and went inside.

She climbed the stairs and opened the door to the one room with three beds. Zack was sitting up on one of the beds, with his back to the door. He moved slightly as the door creaked on its hinges but did not turn to face her.

"Have you made up your mind," Zack said, confusing Claire "I think you should tell her the truth and then ask her to be your girlfriend. What are you–" Zack turned to look at who had entered the room, holding the 'oo' sound as he turned "–are not Cloud," Claire saw his face go blank as he realized he had said something that was not for her ears. She felt in her mind grind to a halt as she attempted to put the pieces together.

"Who do you mean by 'Her'?" Claire asked before she could stop herself. Zack let out a long breath before standing to face her.

"Cloud is in love with Tifa," Zack rolled his eyes after speaking, annoyed at himself for starting there but it was better than nothing "He wants to ask her out but he is ashamed of himself because he had made her a promise but wasn't able to keep it."

"Okay," Claire replied slowly, very glad she was not the 'Her' in question.

"Well I am pretty sure you really don't care about the love life of some random kid that happened to be assigned here with us. But I just could not bear to see the poor guy so miserable. All he had wanted was too join SOLDIER and be Tifa's knight in shining armor," Zack took a deep breath before continuing "I hate how I feel so compelled to put the worries of others on my shoulders. But at least there is a bright side," Zack started to rub his temples with one hand.

"What is the bright side to this?" Claire asked genuinely interested in what Zack meant.

"Heh," Zack chuckled "At least I didn't tell him to ask you out," Claire sent a mock glare at Zack.

"Yeah," Claire let a smile and small laugh appear "Because I'm sure that..." Claire quickly thought of something funny to call Cloud "Chocobo haired boy and I would just be the perfect couple," the sarcasm was so thick in Claire's voice, it dripped.

"Can I be honest about something, Lightning?" Zack said without any humor in his voice.

"Of course you big oaf," Claire leaned onto her right leg and crossed her arms.

"I thought I had made you hate me for what happened with Angeal in Modeoheim. But I was scared of what you might say so I never asked."

"Oh," Claire said as she glanced to the side, the floor suddenly becoming absolutely fascinating "Actually I knew what happened because Angeal once told me that the only way he would give up the Buster Sword is with his dying breath. I was giving you space to mourn, but I guess that was when we both needed a friend," Zack gave her a quizzical look be she waved him off.

"Well whats done is done, and this big clumsy oaf that enjoys being a hero needs to take a walk," Zack said with a laugh.

"Oh that's not true," Claire commented making Zack raise an eyebrow "You're not a hero," Zack gave her his 'kicked puppy' look that made Claire feel terrible for making that joke. The look was gone in an instant though.

"Hey, there's something I want to show you," Zack said proudly as he grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the door "I found it during one of my shifts and you have to see it."

Zack lead Claire away from the village and up a small trail that wound up into one of the mountains separate from the Nibel cluster. The duo met a few fiends on the climb but nothing even remotely threatening to two SOLDIER first class operatives. When they finally reached the place Zack had been pulling Claire towards, the pink haired SOLDIER was speechless. Zack had lead her to a hidden grove of wild roses.

Claire stepped towards the untamed bushes and gingerly stroked the petals of one of the many flowers. As she looked around at the tall green and red bushes, a small green head with a large beak poked through one spot. Claire stepped back in surprise and her hand was instantly on the handle of Blaze Edge. Zack chuckled at her as he held out his hand towards the bird.

"Have you never seen a mountain chocobo before?" He asked sarcastically as the bird walked towards him to investigate the people.

"It surprised me," Claire defended. A larger version of the green chocobo appeared from behind the bushes and decided to investigate alongside its child "I thought chocobos were rather timid," Claire commented as the parent nudged her arm so she would pet it.

"I heard the green breed was the friendliest of the bunch," Zack replied as he scratched the neck of the child "But if you prove to be a threat, they can also be one of the more vicious breeds. Or so I've heard."

The two SOLDIERs decided to leave the chocobos in peace and left the hidden grove. Just before they started back down the path, Zack snapped his fingers and disappeared into the grove. He returned shortly with a single rose and he was in the middle of removing the thorns. Claire raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"A rose without it's thorns is just another way of insulting nature," Claire commented to Zack.

"True, but then it would hurt to put it," Zack slipped the thorn-less rose into Claire's hair and tucked it onto her left ear "Here."

Claire had to look away from Zack as a strong blush started to climb into her face. The blush she felt in her cheeks was so intense she felt as if Zack might see steam rising off her. Zack lightly grabbed her chin and pulled her gaze back to him, she was curious as to how someone like Zack could have such a gentle touch.

"Thank you," Claire said quietly "I don't think your girlfriend would like you doing this though."

"Don't mention it," Zack said with a slight shrug "And Aerith wants everyone to have flowers. Plus I thought the SOLDIER Rose needed a rose.

"The SOLDIER Rose?" Claire asked back, knowing Zack did not just make that up.

"It's what Angeal used to call you. Said you were the rose among weeds," Zack reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Before Claire could react Zack flipped it open and took a picture, Claire's blush vanished as irritation replaced it "Ha! Kunsel owes me two hundred gil," Zack chuckled.

"What?" Claire asked Zack "What do you mean?"

"I bet my friend I could make you blush," Zack stated with a mischievous grin "And let me say, it was surprisingly easy," Zack shoved his phone back in his pocket.

"Well you may be a moron, but you can be quite clever. We should probably head back."

"Right," Zack agreed with a nod.

When they reached the village at the base of the Nibel mountain range, it was little after noon. The village was still quiet, sleepy, and cool from the air coming down off the mountain. Several villagers did a double take when they noticed the rose in Claire's hair. She really did not care what they thought, the flower was beautiful. Not to mention Genesis wore heeled boots and earrings, clearly meaning first class SOLDIER operatives were encouraged to be eccentric.

Zack and Claire stood by the front gate swapping stories. For the first time in years, Claire told the story of how she and Serah were forced into the slums of Midgar and how she met Sephiroth. Zack told her about how he heard about the Great Sephiroth and set off on foot to get to Midgar from Gongaga. They shared many laughs from their numerous stories of solo experiences or what mischief Sephiroth and Angeal had gotten into when no other SOLDIER operatives were around.

They traded stories until the sun sank close to the horizon. Zack pulled Claire to a good spot to watch it set, the place was the other side of the rock Claire had fallen asleep against in the morning. They sat and watched the sun fall behind the horizon. With her arms crossed, Claire leaned against the rock, let the slight breeze rustle her hair and carry the scent of the rose down to her nostrils. Zack inexplicably started to laugh.

"Okay puppy," Claire said cheerfully "No more coffee for you."

"I just thought of something funny," Zack said as he tried to calm down.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Can you imagine us together?" the look of horror on Claire's face made Zack erupt in laughter again. Claire's laughter soon followed.

"That is more than impossible," Claire and Zack laughed again "We may as well be from different worlds."

"No doubt," Zack replied with a smile.

When the finally calmed down, a few chuckles still slipped out every now and again, something caught Zack's attention. Claire heard Zack take a series of short breaths as he sniffed the air, just like a puppy. He looked down at her with a curious look.

"Do you smell something burning?"

**For those of you just joining the story, this chapter has been rewritten. The original draft had included Zack/Lightning starting a relationship, but it is better this way in my (and others) opinion.**

**Please leave a review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Didn't get the response I had expected for last chapter. Believe it or not, that is actually one of the few times I have received any negative comments. I rewrote chapter 11 for those of you that were against the pairing and actually let me know. It was more of a test to see the reaction of you readers, I wanted to know if anyone would ever raise an objection to me.**

**So go read the new chapter 11 before you read this chapter. **

**Anyways, here is the chapter you have been waiting for.**

Zack and Claire made their way back to the village slowly. When the plumes of smoke, glowing orange from below, caught their eyes, the two SOLDIERs rushed back. To say the least, the sight was devastating and vastly confusing. The quiet, sleepy village at the foot of the Nibel mountains, completely engulfed in flame.

The flames roared and the intense heat quickly stopped the warriors from even approaching the buildings. Claire quickly swept her gaze over the area. Cloud was lying face down on the ground opposite the inn and not one other person could be seen. They both knew they had to look for survivors but they both doubted any had survived the inferno.

"No! Please!" The frightened scream alerted the two young operatives to the threat.

They rounded the building at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the Shinra Mansion and froze at the sight. Sephiroth, with his blood soaked Masamune in his left hand, standing over three mutilated corpses and a wall of fire behind him. The silver haired soldier slowly looked up from the bodies on the ground and over to Zack and Claire. The glare the young warriors were met with sent chills down their spines, the pure hatred in Sephiroth's eyes were nothing Claire had ever seen. Sephiroth turned away from them and calmly walked into the flames.

Zack and Claire charged forward and jumped through the flames, using their arms to shield their faces from the fire. When their feet hit the ground they saw Sephiroth walking towards the mountain trail without any sort of rush. The blood dripped off the end of the Masamune leaving no drop or stain on the white blade.

"Sephiroth!" Zack shouted, pain and anger present in his tone "Where are you going!" Claire could not believe what was happening even though all the evidence was in front and behind them.

"I am going to see my mother," Sephiroth replied without emotion. He vanished in a flurry of black mist and Claire blinked rapidly to make sure her sight was not deceived.

"Come on!" Zack shouted as he sprinted towards the mountain. Claire was soon on his heels.

They ripped through the monsters that inhabited the mountain trail. Neither wanted to waste a second while pursuing the man that had been known as a hero. When they reached the Mako reactor that acted as a tomb for Jenova, another sight stopped them dead in their tracks. Tifa kneeling over a dead man with a massive and very deep slash through his chest. The Masamune planted in the ground just a few inches away.

"Shinra, Reactors, SOLDIER," Tifa said as she stood up "I hate them all!" she screamed hysterically as she grabbed the Masamune, pulled it free of the ground and charged into the reactor. The speed at which she could run with that sword amazed the SOLDIERs, but they swiftly recovered and charged after her.

They reached the chamber with the pods just as Tifa reached the top of the stairs. Sephiroth had both hands on the door at the top but spun around and caught the Masamune as Tifa swung it at him. Pulling the sword free of the girls grasp and slamming his fist into her gut, Sephiroth made Tifa tumble down the steel steps. It was a minimal injury compared to what could have happened.

The door behind Sephiroth opened with a hiss. He sent another glare down to Zack and Claire before disappearing through the door. The door sealed with a hiss and Zack and Claire checked on Tifa. The black haired girl lay on her side and tears ran onto the floor. She looked up at the two SOLDIERs and quickly looked away.

"Get away from me!" Tifa shouted as best she could.

With a hurt sigh the two SOLDIERs complied and rushed up the stairs. Zack used the Buster Sword to slice through the door and Claire drew Blaze Edge and switched it to sword mode. Sephiroth was standing at the end of a red pipe, in front of a human sized steel angel-like statue, his Masamune firmly planted in the steel platform just beside him.

"Mother, let's take back this planet together." Claire could feel the hairs on the back of her neck start to stand "I… I had an epiphany. Let's go to the promised land… Mother…" Claire refused to let any memories cloud her mind at this time. All she saw was a silver haired man who had just attacked and killed civilians.

"Sephiroth!" Zack shouted, pure rage in his voice "Why did you kill the townspeople? Why did you hurt Tifa? Answer me, Sephiroth!" pain had made its way into Zack's voice. Claire continued to seal any and all her emotions and memories behind her mental walls. Sephiroth's chuckled echoed through the room.

"Mother, they're here again. You should have ruled this planet. You were stronger, smarter. But then they came… Those inferior dullards…" Claire noticed Zack was baring his teeth in a snarl and saw the rage in his eyes but knew he was rooted to the spot just like her "They came and took this planet away from you. But don't be sad, Mother. I am with you now…"

Sephiroth reached out and grabbed the torso of the steel angel and ripped it from its base. The ease with which Sephiroth had accomplished that sent another chill down Zack and Claire's spines. Neither had seen any display of strength such as that.

"We meet at last, Mother," there was a sincere happiness in Sephiroth's voice.

The being in the large tank with blue lights was something Claire had never seen anything close to. It was a woman for the most part with strange limbs and organs growing out of her back, very long hair, a face frighteningly similar to Sephiroth's and glowing red eyes. Zack walked right up behind Sephiroth and leveled the Buster Sword with the silver haired warrior's neck. Claire's feet were still rooted to the spot.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Zack asked with an aggressive tone. With one swift movement, Sephiroth pulled his sword free and swung it at Zack, who was able to block the blow "Sephiroth… We trusted you!" Zack jumped at Sephiroth but his attack was blocked and Zack was thrown down into the bowels of the reactor with Sephiroth right on his tail.

Claire ran to the edge of the platform she was on and looked over the side. Unfortunately she could not see where Zack and Sephiroth had wound up but she could hear a faint sound of swords clashing. Something akin to a faint whisper caught her attention. Claire looked around until her gaze landed on Jenova and she started to hope that the whisper was not from that being.

The pink haired SOLDIER could not understand anything the whisper was saying but she felt drawn towards the tank with the female being. Inch by inch her feet moved even though she tried with all her might to deny the movement. Her temples began to throb as the whisper kept her feet moving, it felt like she was inching closer to Jenova for hours and it started to scare her that it just felt like the right thing to do. Claire reached up to rub her temple and her finger brushed the rose that was still tucked into her hair and behind her ear. A sudden and very loud clash of steel forced her back to reality.

Zack landed on the platform, just to the side of Claire and in line with the door. Claire saw far more tiny cuts all over Zack than anyone would care to count. Sephiroth appeared a moment later, his sword glowing white, and not one scratch on him. Sephiroth slashed at Zack, who blocked and was thrown out of the room, the Buster Sword fell from his hands midair, and landed point down in the floor of the doorway. The Masamune lost its glow and Sephiroth turned to Jenova for a moment.

"Claire," Sephiroth said in a gentle tone "Come join Jenova. As a family we will cleanse this world of the weak and build a new world," Sephiroth held out his right hand to Claire.

"You murdered those people," Claire said flatly, sadness threatening to break through her cold facade "I can't let you live because of what you've done," Sephiroth's gaze hardened into a glare.

"So be it," Claire barely dodged the Masamune as it raced upward, attempting to sever her right arm.

Calling on everything Sephiroth had taught her, Claire used her size and speed to stay out of the Masamune's path. Not letting the thought of blocking, or even deflecting, the long white blade crossed Claire's mind for she knew that Sephiroth was much stronger than Genesis. Sephiroth was much faster than Genesis, which seemed impossible, and Claire was only able to dodge Sephiroth's attacks because she knew his fighting style.

The Masamune was constantly slicing through the air a mere half-inch away from Claire. She had been pushed back to the edge of Sephiroth's attack range and he was toying with her. Sephiroth had not moved from his starting spot but he had Claire jumping, flipping, and rolling back and forth across a twelve foot space. Sephiroth chuckled as Claire refused to show any sign of fatigue.

"I trained you well, Claire," Sephiroth stated as he thrust the Masamune forward, missing Claire's head by an inch "But believe me, no one, not even Genesis could beat me. Not once."

Claire felt a crack race through her mental wall at Sephiroth's words. Genesis' words about her parents repeated in her mind at every mention of the name of the avid LOVELESS fan. Claire decided then, she had to push through Sephiroth's attacks.

Claire slashed as fast she could manage but every one of her attacks was blocked. Claire was only able to avoid some of Sephiroth's attacks because of her size. The length of the Masamune prevented Sephiroth from properly fighting with Claire. As the two blades danced through the air Claire was able to perform the impossible, she rolled behind Sephiroth, kicked the back of his knee, making him fall onto it, jumped over him, and kicked the Masamune out of his hand. Claire brought Blaze Edge up to Sephiroth's throat and looked him in the eye. Claire admitted to herself that that action was a big mistake.

Claire stood there for what seemed like hours to the young girl. She knew that one small movement, one flick of the wrist, and the silver haired SOLDIER would be dead. Her mental walls suddenly evaporated and a flood of thoughts came forward that she did not want. Sephiroth, the man who's life was in her hands, had rescued her and Serah from the slums, raised them both, sent Serah to school, taught Claire how to be a warrior, all out of the selfless kindness of his heart. Tears started to well up in Claire's eyes as memory after memory flew through her mind, she didn't understand how Sephiroth was so calm with a blade against his throat. Claire lowered her weapon before any tears fell.

"Go," Claire said to her adoptive father "We can blame what happened on AVALANCHE, we can say Zack was ambushed and we tried to protect the village or they were working with AVALANCHE and tried to assassinate us or … or … or something," Claire was trying very hard to not cry. Sephiroth slowly got to his feet.

"I'm proud of you, Claire," Sephiroth said gently as he ran the back of his fingers through Claire's hair and down the right side of her head "You would do anything to protect your family wouldn't you?" Claire nodded "Even lie to the Shinra about me destroying an innocent town?" Claire nodded again "Serah was very lucky to have you as a sister," One thought ran through Claire's mind at that moment.

_Was?_

The very instant that thought appeared, so did a left hook from Sephiroth. The hit launched Claire off her feet, split her lip open, knocked three of her teeth loose, and cracked her jaw.

Claire landed on her shoulder and was able to roll onto her feet. Sephiroth's fist almost connected with her face a second time, but she moved back just in time. Claire slashed at him but sliced the air as he jumped to the side and threw several punches, Claire dodging them changed Blaze Edge into the gun mode and fired several shots, not one finding its target. Quickly switching the weapon back into sword mode, she charged and slashed. Sephiroth caught the blade and ripped the weapon from Claire's grasp. With his hand on the blade Sephiroth placed his other hand on the handle of Blaze Edge and snapped the weapon. The transformation mechanism shattering into hundreds of tiny levers, nuts, bolts and springs; the blade and handle clattering to the floor shortly after.

Sephiroth lunged at Claire again. Claire had no idea how close to the wall she had been until Sephiroth's fist crashed into the wall and his elbow was beside her head. Sephiroth pulled his arm free and threw another punch, Claire forced her knees to buckle so Sephiroth's fist passed over head. Claire rolled to the side and leaped up to punch Sephiroth with her right hand. Faster than humanly possible, Sephiroth pulled his hand out of the wall again, spun to face Claire, and grabbed her hand. Sephiroth twisted Claire's hand and slammed his other hand into her elbow, breaking both Claire's wrist and elbow simultaneously. Before the pain could reach Claire's brain, Sephiroth used his impossible speed to quickly break Claire's forearm, upper arm, and dislocated her shoulder.

When Claire had her feet back on the ground, the pain from her arm finally reached her brain and she was stunned by it. Sephiroth took the moment of advantage and delivered three punches, first into Claire's right eye, second into her left eye, and the third was an uppercut to her jaw. The silver haired warrior jumped, spun and sent his right foot into her collar bone, sending the girl crashing into the wall shoulders first. If Claire had any less than an ocean of adrenaline in her veins, she would not have been able to remain on her feet.

As Sephiroth charged at her once again, Claire leaped again. Kicking off of two walls, she planned on planting the steel plate in the toe of her left boot directly into Sephiroth's right temple. Claire had almost accomplished what she had intended but Sephiroth spun towards her leg. He repeated what he did to her arm, on her leg, and landed a downward punch on her ribs, sending Claire straight to the floor. Sephiroth bent down and started to plant several punches on Claire's chest and did not stop the assault until every rib had broken. The assault was finished with a kick, sending Claire rolling over to the wall. Claire pushed herself up, not wanting to give in.

"You are very stubborn," Sephiroth chuckled as he walked towards her "Remember how I said that can be both good and bad? This is when it is a very bad trait, Claire," Sephiroth grabbed a handful of her pink hair and roughly shoved her head against the wall, stars racing through her vision. Something snapped in Claire's mind when Sephiroth said her name.

"My name is Lightning," Claire was barely able to growl. Sephiroth slammed her head against the wall again. Sephiroth grabbed the rose out of her hair as he stood up. Claire, barely able to stay awake, saw the rose petals turn black.

"The black rose, a symbol of death and a genetic impossibility," Sephiroth tossed it aside as he chuckled to himself "I seem to share those traits," Sephiroth fell to one knee, grabbed the Masamune and turned back to Claire "Don't be sad, Claire. I'll make sure Serah joins you in the lifestream," the Masamune was then thrust into Claire's gut and the girl instantly lost all feeling in her legs.

Sephiroth pulled the Masamune free and walked back over to Jenova. Claire started using the Cure materia she had brought with her, by Zack's advice. The pink haired operative used the materia until it had to recharge and struggled to not pass out but was unable to remain conscious. The last thing she saw was the standard Shinra Infantry boots and the tip of the Buster Sword.

**Please leave a Review.**

**By the way, as most if not all of you have noticed, many errors tend to slip by me. So if anyone would like to be beta-reader, I would be very grateful.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I know it seemed like I changed Chapter 11 to make a few disgruntled readers happy but that was just what it looked like. The moment I posted the original chapter 11, I changed my mind on that part of the plot, mainly because a romance between two characters should develop over time, not just appear like a slap in the face. So no matter how you readers reacted, I would have rewritten it. The reaction was just incentive to get it done sooner.**

**But I know you would much rather continue the story than listen to me ramble, so on with the story.**

Several machines beeped lazily as they recorded each and every heartbeat and breath of the unconscious occupant of the sterile white bed. Other machines huffed as they pulled and pushed air through the damaged lungs of the young patient. Another machine was connected to long clear tubes and was responsible for the chemicals that kept the girl's body and blood full of nutrients to aid the recovery.

A man with black hair and a suit flipped through the pages attached to a steel clipboard. He could not believe she was even alive, he had watched the security footage a dozen times and could not help but think she was dead in some way. The report and the machines confirmed that her heart was still beating, her lungs still breathing, and her brain still functioning. But it would be a long time until anyone knew the extent of the damage done to her mind.

The man in the suit walked over to a chair, sat down, and stared out the window. The security footage from the reactor was burned into his mind from the multiple views and in depth analyzing. The young girl now lying in a hospital bed in Midgar had been forced to fight Sephiroth, the best of the SOLDIER operatives, unrivaled through his entire career, and the adoptive father of the girl and her sister.

The man in the suit may not have known Claire by anything more than her name and face, but he knew that when she was faced with having to kill her father figure, she could not go through with it. She had tried hard to best Sephiroth in their fight, even managed to gain the upper hand for a moment but she had not been able to give it her all. The data from the virtual reality training simulator had said she could nearly rival Genesis in a controlled fight but was still far from being able to best Sephiroth. It was understandable to the man, Claire not being able to properly fight Sephiroth, he had been her mentor, friend, and father for a number of years prior to the conflict in the reactor. Not to mention Sephiroth had taught her all she knew about fighting, so he had known exactly what she was going to do.

The man's gaze slid over to the bed and he visibly winced from the sight, it was still just painful to look at. Claire's head had bandages wrapped around it because her skull had been fractured in the back, her face was bruised, swollen, and bandaged, her entire right arm and left leg in a cast, and layers of bandages covered her torso. The doctors said that she fallen into a coma, either from the head injury or from her brain being stressed to the extreme by the pain. There was one question running through the man's mind that made him more curious than anything else about what Sephiroth had done.

Why had Sephiroth just savagely beat her and left her to bleed to death? Sephiroth never left any opponent alive, in the training simulator or on the battlefield. The legendary warrior barely ever fought hand to hand either, if he lost his sword he would retrieve it before continuing the fight unless he was sparring with Angeal. It was almost as if Sephiroth knew Claire would survive, almost as if he wanted her to survive. Sephiroth always had an ulterior motive well hidden behind his every move.

The man was so lost in his thoughts he almost did not notice his phone ringing in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open.

"Sir?" the voice of a young man asked "She is here, should I escort her?"

"Yes, but don't say anything. Got it, Reno?"

"Yes, sir," Reno replied flatly.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door to Claire's room in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. The suited man pulled a curtain to shield the sight of Claire from the doorway, pulled two chairs near the door, then went and opened the door. He glanced down at the pink haired, blue eyed girl that was obviously Claire's sister. He had never seen Serah before now and that worried look in her eyes prodded a part of his being that he thought no longer existed, it had been a long time since he felt the need to comfort someone.

"Come on in, Serah. Have a seat," The suited man turned to Reno "You're dismissed," He turned back to Serah "I am Tseng, the Director of the Turks. I'm sure you are wondering why you are here," Serah nodded wordlessly. Tseng sat down in the chair opposite of Serah.

"Do you know where my sister is? Its been almost a month since I last heard from her and she said she would call me as soon as she got back to Midgar," Serah said quickly, the worry still in her eyes.

"Yes, I know" Serah was about to speak again "Please allow me to tell you why you are here," Tseng pulled a folded page out of his jacket and calmly unfolded it before speaking "Your school records show that you have already completed and exceeded the requirements needed for graduation from the academy you currently attend, other than twelfth grade history. That is quite a remarkable achievement for a fifteen year old student."

"Well, I knew that the sooner I finished school, the sooner I could be with Claire and Sephiroth again," Serah said cheerfully, although the worry was still in her eyes.

"Serah, due to your exceptional progress through education, I am offering you a position with the Turks," Tseng said without emotion. The look of surprise on Serah's face was amusing but he did not let it show.

"Aren't I a little young?" Serah asked the Director.

"Most SOLDIER members join between the ages of eleven and thirteen. But the Turks is a much safer job and we get paid more than most SOLDIER operatives," Serah looked to the floor as she carefully considered the option "I know there is a lot of negative rumors about the Turks out there but we are the reason why many SOLDIER members, including your sister, even make it home sometimes," It was quite for a few minutes while Serah mulled it over. Tseng was not about to grow impatient with her as it was rare to find someone with her brains.

"Why did you bring me here to interview me?" Serah asked, finally breaking the monotonous pattern of beeping "Don't you have an office?"

"Please focus on the matter at hand," Tseng replied calmly "Our reason for being here will be revealed soon," Silence fell between them as Serah continued to mull over her choice.

"Okay," Serah said quietly "I accept your invitation into the Turks," Tseng nodded and stood up. He pulled back the curtain and Serah was on her feet the instant she saw the pink hair "Claire! What happened?" Serah was nearly screaming hysterically and tears were already rolling down her cheeks. Tseng let the young girl cry for several minutes.

"Sephiroth went rogue," Tseng answered calmly. The Director of the Turks wished he did not have to tell Serah the truth about what happened but he wouldn't forgive himself for telling her Shinra's official story.

"What? He did this? That's not possible!" Serah was on her knees beside the bed that held her sister. She was still screaming but not as loudly as at first "He would never hurt Claire!"

"He burnt Nibelheim to the ground, killed all the townsfolk, the infantry that accompanied him, and Zack," Tseng knew Zack was not dead but the official story said he was missing in action "Claire is the only survivor of the incident."

"Sephiroth is dead?" Serah asked between sobs.

"Stabbed then thrown into the mako reservoir of the Nibelheim reactor by the infantryman, Cloud Strife. Private Strife was stabbed by Sephiroth before he sent Sephiroth to his death."

"So we're orphans again," Serah said as her sobbing ended "I guess I have no choice now but to work to pay for her medical bills."

"Speaking of which, I have some financial concerns to discuss. When Genesis and Angeal passed on, they each left all their assets to Sephiroth as they had no family. Sephiroth only had Claire listed as his next of kin and you are Claire's only living family," Serah could not believe Tseng was calmly talking about money while her sister was lying half dead in front of them "Unfortunately, since neither you or Claire are eighteen, you can't touch the inheritance. And depending on what happens to Claire-"

"She will wake up," Serah had a lethal tone that surprised Tseng.

"I never said she wouldn't wake up."

"Well how bad is it?" Serah's voice had lost its edge but Tseng knew it was just hidden.

"Claire has suffered from extreme head trauma. She could wake up and be perfectly fine, she could have amnesia or complete memory loss, or possibly even be reduced to-" the look Serah threw at Tseng made him stop talking about that topic "The other injuries she received are; all her ribs have been broken, all bones in her arm and leg are broken, roughly a hundred other bones have been cracked and her spine has been severed just above her naval."

"So she's paralyzed," Serah knew that news would destroy Claire. _If there is anything left to destroy._ Her mind cruelly added "So when do I start?" Serah asked Tseng.

"Whenever you are ready to begin training."

The next four months for Serah were filled with constant exercise and visiting Claire as much as possible. If it had not been for her Shinra identification card, with enhanced clearance because of Sephiroth, Serah would have had to sleep in Claire's hospital room every night. Not that Serah had anything against spending more time with Claire but it was nice to sleep in an actual bed every now and again, even though it was in Claire's room of the SOLDIER barracks.

The following two months were focused on Serah learning how to pilot a Shinra helicopter. Serah was very glad they were using a simulator because for the first two weeks, she crashed every time the chopper left the ground. It was a long and very difficult piloting course but she was able to pass it with flying colors. Serah felt much better when she learned her coworker, Rude, still wasn't very good at flying a helicopter, which is why he was always paired with Reno, who was easily the best pilot out of the Turks.

Once Serah was no longer busy with getting in shape to meet the Turks standards, which were surprisingly high, or learning how to fly, she made friends. Cissnei was almost immediately a close friend, Reno took some time to even notice Serah, and Rude just helped Serah out every now and again. It took nearly a week and a half, and much help from Cissnei, for Serah to decide on a weapon to use. Serah tried knives, handguns, rifles, an electro-baton like Reno, a compound bow, her bare fists, and a shuriken like Cissnei, but settled with the compound bow which she seemed to have a talent for.

Seven months after joining the Turks, Serah was given her real weapon. It was still a compound bow but it was designed to collapse into an elctro-baton for both easy transport and close range combat. The arrows for Serah's bow were specially designed. The arrow heads were razor sharp and made out of the same alloy that had seen use as the blade of the Masamune, Sephiroth's famous long sword. Tseng told Serah the arrows were almost indestructible but the fletch could be damaged enough to make them useless and they were too expensive to mass produce so Serah would only ever be allowed to have a maximum of forty arrows at any given time.

As Serah was leaving for the night, to spend another night waiting for Claire to wake up, she spotted Cissnei waiting at the front doors to the Shinra building.

"Hey Serah," Cissnei said pleasantly.

"Hello," Serah calmly replied with a smile.

"Want some company?"

"It would be nice to have someone to talk to," Serah commented.

Cissnei walked with Serah to the hospital where Claire slept. They two girls grabbed a coffee along the way and shared meaningless stories with each other. Both of them, along with the other Turks, knew that the only person a Turk could trust as a friend was another Turk. Most people wanted nothing to do with a Turk, which was sometimes a good thing. No Turk had ever been assaulted in an alleyway or in the slums but there were reports of SOLDIER operatives, other than firsts, being mugged or even killed in the same scenarios, which amused Reno and inflated his ego to no end.

Cissnei accompanied Serah up into Claire's room and gasped when she realized why Serah's sister sounded so familiar. Claire swiftly recovered from her injuries over the last seven months but was still in a coma. Serah's older sister just looked as if she was resting peacefully.

"Your sister is Lightning?" Cissnei stated more than asked "I can really see the resemblance now. I wonder what its like to be related to a SOLDIER first," the red haired young woman mused.

"It was scary," Serah replied "I was always expecting to get the call," Cissnei knew what Serah meant by 'the call' "But she would send me a letter and some gil every week. When she wasn't on missions, of course," Serah felt tears starting to well up in her eyes "We were raised by Sephiroth and he taught Claire to be a warrior so she would be able to protect me if she ever needed to," Cissnei walked up to Serah and wrapped her arms around the small pink haired girl. Serah buried her face in her friends shoulder "How could he do that? How could he hurt Claire and all those people?" Serah sobbed into Cissnei's shoulder as the red haired young woman hugged her tight. It took a few minutes for Serah to recover her composure but when she was calm, Cissnei released her.

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"I'm going to stay here, with my sister," Serah answered solemnly.

"Promise you will call me if you need anything, okay?" Cissnei said with a fake serious tone.

"I promise. Thank you, Cissnei. You're a great friend."

"No problem Serah," Cissnei said with a wave as she turned and left.

Serah spent the rest of the daylight making Claire look presentable and taking care of her. Serah was irritated by how the nurses always made Claire's hair so messy but it was unavoidable when changing her clothes and bedding. Serah sat on the side of the bed and gently pulled Claire up just enough to brush her hair and pull it over her left shoulder. The next hour was spent on cleaning and trimming Claire's nails, Serah knew all she was doing could be done by the staff but she wanted to do something for Claire. As the sun started to set behind Reactor Four, Serah started to massage the muscles in Claire's arms, hands, legs, feet, neck, and back.

"Any day now Claire. I know you will wake up any day now because you promised you wouldn't let anything happen me and that you would always be there for me," Serah whispered as she held her sisters hand tightly in hers. Serah pushed up Claire's white hospital shirt slightly to look at the scar from the Masamune, it was barely two inches long and Serah knew there to be an identical scar on Claire's back.

Life for Serah became such a routine she barely noticed three years had passed since she joined the Turks. Going to see Claire in the hospital nearly every day had started to wear down her sanity to the point of Serah not remembering going to the hospital. Serah's near daily visits had become weekly visits then only once every two weeks and eventually once a month. She felt terrible for putting herself before her sister that had been unconscious for years but Serah knew that she had to face the truth. The doctors had said that at this point, it was unlikely that Claire would ever wake up and being her only family, Claire's life was in Serah's hands.

Serah promised that she would never give up on Claire. Serah knew that Claire would wake up but her cruel mind always gave her an image of Claire, bound to a wheelchair and permanently in a state similar to high level Mako poisoning. Serah refused to believe that is what would happen to Claire. Claire had been a First Class operative of SOLDIER, one of the strongest fighters in the world, had called herself Lightning because of how swift and deadly she had been on the battlefield, Claire would not be reduced to such a state when she woke up.

Cissnei had surprised Serah for her eighteenth birthday. Her, Serah, and the newest Turk, Elena, went to her apartment for a quiet evening and Serah's first alcoholic drink, something Serah really hoped to share with Claire. The three Turk women spent many hours talking about their coworkers and their boss, and shared many laughs as they became tipsy from the drinks. In the early hours of the morning, Elena went home and Serah fell asleep on Cissnei's couch. Cissnei sat with Serah as the small pink haired girl started to cry in her sleep, having read Serah's file, the red haired Turk wondered how often this happened to Serah. The next morning Serah was called into Tseng's office.

Serah sat in one of the chairs facing Tseng's desk as she waited for him to enter the office. She had been called by Tseng for a 'delicate assignment' as he had put it. When the director finally entered the office he dropped a file in front of Serah and a placed a cell phone beside it.

"You are being sent undercover," Tseng said as Serah opened the file "We only recently discovered Avalanche's informants here on the plate. It is a small group that calls themselves NORA," Serah read the information as Tseng spoke "We don't know who is in the group mostly because they never attracted Shinra's eye before now. All we know is they are a group of vigilantes that have aided in the capture of some criminals which is why Shinra ignored their existence for so long."

"Then how did we discover their connection to Avalanche?" Serah asked as she flipped the page, most of the information was entirely unnecessary.

"We apprehended a member of Avalanche a month ago and he finally revealed where Avalanche has been getting its info," Tseng said as Serah turned to the last page. It had information on a person who's picture was clipped to the page "The leader of this NORA, and presumably the other members, are located in Sector Seven. Your job is to infiltrate NORA and get close enough to the leader, Snow Villiers, that he will tell you what information he is passing to Avalanche so we can stop them from hurting people."

"Yes sir," Serah said as she flipped the file closed and stood up.

"It matters not how you gain entry into NORA but you must as soon as possible. Also, that phone is for you. It is designed to have an untraceable signal, incoming or outgoing. If you need assistance or extraction, dial eight-eight-seven-five. Clear?"

"Infiltrate NORA, gain Snow's trust, report any information, dial eight-eight-seven-five for help," Serah said to Tseng.

"Very good. Do not let anyone use that phone, and just so we are clear, as of now you are considered dead to the other Turks, no help is coming unless you dial that number," Serah nodded and left to begin her mission that likely take several months, possibly even years to complete.

**Please leave a Review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yes, I'm finally updating this. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Before the door to Tseng's office closed behind Serah, she heard Tseng's phone ring. The young Turk heard her boss mutter something then flip his phone closed and start walking towards her. Serah turned towards Tseng in hopes of an explanation.

"Change of plans. Let's go," Tseng commanded.

Tseng lead Serah out to the helipad at a very rushed pace. Serah instinctively climbed into the pilot's seat and started the rotor. Tseng tapped on the bottom of the compass embedded in the control panel in order to tell Serah to head South, since he had yet to put on his head set. When Tseng finally had his headset on, Serah was about to ask him what was going on.

"You have healing materia, correct?" Tseng asked, cutting Serah off.

"Of course. Why?"

"They're going to be needed."

"Tseng, what's going on?" Serah asked but did not receive a response "Tseng?" Serah looked over and saw that Tseng was talking to someone else on the radio. After a few minutes of flying Tseng finally responded.

"Over there," Tseng pointed towards the West "Land over there by the others."

Serah spotted two other black Shinra helicopters in the distance and steered her helicopter towards them. The young pink haired Turk guided the helicopter to the ground beside the other two. Tseng was climbing out of the chopper just moments after it was on the ground. Serah shut off the engine and climbed out of the helicopter. She ran over to where Tseng headed and froze.

The first thing Serah noticed was the blood. There was so much blood, mixed with the recent rain water and forming massive red pools in the mud. Cissnei, Reno, and Rude were bent over a body dressed in the uniform of a First Class SOLDIER Operative. The three Turks were using several different materia and first-aid tools to try to keep the SOLDIER alive. Serah did not recognize the face of the operative but the gentle features and pulled back raven hair could only be Zack, which she heard about from Claire. The pink haired Turk could not believe that Zack was still alive, there was just so much blood.

"Serah!" Tseng shouted, for the first time ever at Serah "What are you doing? Get over here and help!" Serah nodded and knelt beside Cissnei to begin using her healing materia as fast as she could.

"Come on, man!" Reno shouted at Zack "Don't you dare go into the light!"

"Status!" Tseng shouted.

"He's breathing on his own," Rude replied.

"Bleeding has stopped," Cissnei stated.

"That will have to do," Tseng said to his subordinates "Help me get him loaded into one of the choppers. Reno your flying," Rude and Reno assisted Tseng with getting the tall operative into the helicopter.

"Where are we headed?" Reno asked Tseng as Serah pulled the door shut and everyone put on headsets.

"Palumpolum outskirts, now go!" Reno started the engine and everyone switched on their headsets "Serah, Cissnei, keep your eyes on Zack. He still has several bullets in him, one wrong move and we lose him. Keep him still," Tseng pulled out his phone and punched in a number "It's Tseng, I'm calling in a favor and I need medical equipment and personnel at the L-Z in two hours."

For the next two hours, Serah held Zack's legs tightly against the floor of the helicopter while Cissnei held Zack's shoulders down with her hands and his head still with her knees. Serah saw how much blood had soaked into Cissnei's suit and it made her uneasy. The pink haired Turk knew that Zack was impossibly lucky to be alive at this moment.

When the helicopter was once again on the ground, Tseng already had the door open. Three soldiers in red armor, with the help of the Turks, moved Zack onto a stretcher and into the back of a large military truck. Tseng motioned for the Turks to follow him into the truck with Zack. Even though every instinct was telling the four of them not to trust these soldiers. They wordlessly followed their boss in the end.

Serah had heard a lot regarding Shinra's relationship with Cocoon. It was tense at best. With Shinra trying to push its Mako Reactors on the populace of Cocoon, the events leading to the war with Wutai were being recreated. If it did come to war, Shinra no longer had its legendary warriors and Cocoon would win within a year. Serah knew that was the only reason Shinra had not already gone to war but even with the two nations at each others throat, the Turks were now headed into Palumpolum with an escort of PSICOM soldiers, the Sanctum's version of SOLDIER.

Palumpolum was the trade capitol of the world. Being located right on the border of Shinra and Sanctum territory which made it a very tactically valuable location, it had the least crime, and was very wealthy. It technically belonged to the Sanctum, which is why they had a military base within its limits, but the Shinra were able to trade with Cocoon via Palumpolum. If war were to erupt between the Sanctum and Shinra, Palumpolum would be ripped to pieces.

The large truck never slowed as it made its way towards the hospital in Palumpolum. Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, the stretcher holding Zack was on its way to the operating room. Tseng and his subordinates proceeded into the waiting room. A few minutes later the door to the hallway opened and a woman in heels, a knee length uniform dress, a long green coat, glasses, and very long blond hair. Tseng walked up to her and shook her hand.

"Tseng," the woman said as she and Tseng shook hands. The dark glare she had said she was not pleased to see the Turk.

"Jihl," Tseng said as he finished the greeting "Thank you for doing this under such short notice."

"He had better be worth it," Jihl said in a very hostile tone "This is going to take weeks to cover up."

"He is a former SOLDIER First," Tseng stated "Not to mention he defeated Angeal and held his own against Sephiroth for a time."

"Very well. But I'm not doing anything like this again," Jihl turned and left after speaking.

"What a bitch," Reno said once the door was closed "But she reminds me of someone. Who is it she looks like?" Reno asked himself "Who was that Tseng?"

"That was Jihl Nabaat, the commander of PSICOM," Tseng replied as he lowered himself into a chair.

"Nabaat?" Reno said with a surprised look "That's Elena's sister?" Tseng nodded and Serah's eyes widened at the realization "Wow. What a babe."

"Really Reno?" Cissnei scolded.

"Wait, how is Elena a Turk if she is from Cocoon?" Serah asked.

"It's a long story. But in the end Jihl asked me to keep an eye on Elena," Tseng responded flatly.

"Why isn't Elena with us?" Cissnei inquired.

"She's on assignment in Junon," Tseng's response was the last of the conversation until a surgeon came out of the operating room three hours later. Jihl returned and took a seat on the opposite side of the room from the Turks.

"How is he?" Cissnei asked just before Tseng, almost too eagerly. The middle aged surgeon was almost surprised by Cissnei

"We were able to remove all the bullets and repair most of the damage," he stated "He should be back on his feet in a couple of months," Tseng nodded at Jihl.

"Very good. Turks, we're leaving."

* * *

Three days after returning to Midgar, Serah was beginning her mission to infiltrate NORA. Her task was to gain enough trust with the leader of NORA, Snow Villiers, so he would tell her what he was going to tell Avalanche. Tseng had changed one of the mission directives, he wanted Serah to keep him informed on as much as possible. As Serah got ready to first meet this Snow, she mentally reviewed the information from the dossier.

Snow Villiers, twenty-one years old, orphaned when he was sixteen, currently resides in Sector Seven. The other members of NORA are assumed to also live within Sector Seven. Villiers frequently visits a bar in Sector Seven, owned by a nineteen year old woman named Lebreau. Villiers claims to be a hero, displays an optimistic nature and does whatever he can to protect people.

Serah decided to wear an outfit to look innocent. Black thigh high stockings, red miniskirt with a black lace edge, white sleeveless button down blouse, a thin sleeveless pink sweeper, and beige shoes. To finish the innocent look, Serah tied her hair into a ponytail coming off the left side of her head and tied an extra hair tie around her left wrist. She stood in her bedroom and stared at her bow for a long time trying to decide if she should try to bring it. Finally deciding against it, Serah grabbed her purse (purchased for the sake of the mission) threw her wallet, the special phone, keys, and a small handgun loaded with shredder rounds, into the purse. Serah made sure the gun was well hidden before leaving.

It took an hour for Serah to get to Sector Seven from her apartment in Sector Four. Another hour slipped by as she searched for the bar that Snow was constantly seen at. When Serah finally found it, she adopted a rather shy posture and did not make eye contact with anyone as she walked in. She chose a seat near the door at the bar, placed her purse at her feet, and shifted around on her seat with false nervousness. The bartender, who Serah assumed to be Lebreau, noticed Serah and how nervous she looked.

"Don't recognize ya. New in town?" the dark haired bartender asked with a smile.

"Uh, yea. Just moved here for school," Serah responded, mentally slapping herself for not thinking of a better cover story beforehand.

"Well in that case," the bartender turned away and quickly made up a drink "This one's on the house," Serah looked at the colorful liquid in the glass and cautiously sipped it with the bartender intently watching. The drink was a mixture of soda and several fruit juices which tasted amazing.

"Wow, that's delicious," Serah commented with a smile. The bartender returned the smile and left to deal with other customers.

Serah stealthily examined every person that came and went, looking for Snow. Occasionally she chatted with the bartender, who was the Lebreau that owned the the bar, and every now and again pretended to have a text-message conversation with someone. The truth was she was sending messages in code to Tseng, updating him about her progress, or actually talking with Cissnei.

Five hours after Serah arrived in the bar, Snow appeared. Serah gave a quick look to make sure it was him and saw that he was accompanied by three other men, one was the same height and width as him, one was slim and fashionably dressed, the last was small and dressed in mechanic overalls. The pink haired Turk quickly started to think of how she could initiate contact with him without blowing her cover.

"Hey, Lebreau!" Snow called out "A round of drinks on me!" the three men around Snow cheered loudly and went to a corner booth while Snow walked up to the counter. He glanced down at Serah and smiled "Hi," Snow said loudly before turning back to grab the drinks from Lebreau.

As Snow walked towards his friends Serah turned to the man sitting next to her. When no one was looking Serah took out twenty gil and slid it over to the man, who gave her a confused look.

"There's twenty gil. Trip me when I stand up," Serah whispered. The man gave her a confused look before shrugging and grabbing the gil.

Serah waited until Snow stood up and started bring the glasses back to the bar. The pink haired girl started to stand, turning towards the man she paid, and was glad when her foot stopped moving and she began to fall. Even though she knew it was going to happen, it did not stop her knee from crashing into the floor and exploding with minor pain. Snow dropped the glasses on a table and ran over to Serah, Lebreau was looking over the counter and the man turned to look either because he was not expecting the sound or he thought he actually hurt Serah.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Snow asked quickly looking at Serah rubbing her knee.

"I'm fine, just a bump. My foot must have gotten tangled in my purse strap," Serah said, grimacing at how sore her knee was becoming.

"Do you need help?" Snow asked, the worried look in his eyes made Serah's heart melt.

"It would be appreciated. Serah, by the way."

"Snow," he said as he helped Serah to her feet "Live near here?"

"Not really, just heard this place had good drinks," Serah sort of lied. She grabbed her phone and looked at the time "Oh, crap. I have a bus to catch. Nice to meet you Snow," Serah quickly grabbed her purse and walked out of the bar.

_Objective one, complete_ Serah said to herself.

Over the next week and a half, Serah arranged more 'chance' meetings with Snow until he finally asked her to hang out with him and NORA. Serah sent Tseng all the information she had about the NORA members Yuj, Gadot, Maqui, and Lebreau, and updated Tseng whenever possible. After a month of spending time with Snow and NORA, Serah was asked to join NORA, the No Obligation, Rules, or Authority vigilante group. Three months after joining NORA, Serah had no information about Avalanche to forward to Tseng but one night Snow asked Serah to take a walk with him. Hoping for finally being able to learn something worth her boss's time, Serah quickly agreed.

Snow and Serah made small talk for half an hour while they walked around the quiet streets of Sector Seven. They stopped to rest their feet and look at the stars for a while. Serah couldn't help but focus on the Shinra building, the white and gray monument to modern life. The place she spent some of the best years of her life, where she knew Claire had spent the best years of her life. More than anything, Serah wanted Claire to wake up and see life in those currently comatose ice blue eyes. Serah wanted her big sister back and felt a tear roll down her cheek as she thought about how the possibility of Claire waking up had long since drained to almost impossible.

Serah wiped away the tear when she heard Snow approaching her. The pink haired girl turned to him and saw he was hiding something in the pocket of his trench coat. She quickly reevaluated the night and knew instantly what Snow was about to say.

"Serah, I know we've only known each other a few months but I also know there is no one else like you out there," Serah was paralyzed in shock with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. This was not supposed to happen, this was not part of the plan "Serah Farron," Snow dropped to one knee and pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing a necklace with an abstract form made of silver and glass "Will you marry me?"

Every part of Serah's mind was screaming at her to say no. She was supposed to earn his trust, not marry him. Getting married was never and never shall be a part of any mission. Her mind was throwing reason after reason to say no at her but she could not form the word. Then something else came forward, a message from something Turks are accused of not having, her heart. Serah's heart was telling her that there was no one else like Snow. He was the kindest person she knew, always looking out for his friends and always looking for the bright side of things. He risked his life to catch criminals and help people simply because he wanted to protect them.

Before Serah could say anything however, the sky lit up as if the sun were rising. A thunderous explosion roared through the night air, making Serah and Snow slap their hands over their ears. The biggest fireball Serah had ever seen was rising from where the top of Mako Reactor One had been not a moment ago. Avalanche had struck.

**Final Fantasy 7 begins.**

**As before, let me know if there is anything I need to change/edit/touch-up. I feel like there is a part or two I could make better.**

**Please leave a Review. **


	15. Chapter 15

"It is time," a female and male voice said together.

"What?" the young woman replied.

"It is time for you to wake up," the voices said.

"What do you mean wake up? Am I sleeping?" the young woman replied.

"You have been asleep for a long time," the voices said "As have we."

"How long have we been asleep?"

"Almost four years now. We have been sleeping since that day."

"What day? Who are you?" the young woman was starting to feel uneasy.

"Neither answer matters at this time. What does matter is you. You need to get up."

"Okay. Let me try… I can't feel my legs. Why can't I feel my legs? What happened?" the young woman was starting to panic.

"Remain calm, young one," the voices soothed "There. Try again."

"I… I can feel my legs. How did you do that?"

"It matters not. What does matter is you. It is time."

"Why do I matter? Time for what?" the young woman was getting quite irritated and was starting to feel as if she recognized the male voice.

"Reunion."

* * *

Claire slowly opened her eyes, thinking that if the voices were right, her eyes would not be accustomed to light. Fortunately, the light from the ceiling did not blind her. Without testing her capabilities, Claire pushed herself up into a sitting position and started pulling all the monitoring wires off of her body. The machines she had been hooked up to started to protest loudly at her intervention but she ignored them and swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

The young pink haired woman stretched her arms above her head and felt a painful stretch in her stomach. She pulled up her shirt slightly and looked at the thin scar. Claire tried to recall what the scar was from but no memory came forward. Two completely different facts jumped forward though. Her hair was nearly down to her waist and her breasts were bigger. The former SOLDIER decided she had no time for these petty matters, she had to report back to Shinra and contact Serah.

Two nurses burst through the door and froze. To Claire, they looked as if they had seen a ghost, then again, if the voices were right, she had been asleep for nearly four years. One nurse was blond and had blue eyes while the other had brown hair and brown eyes.

"Y-Your awake!" the blond shouted.

"Obviously," Claire snapped back "Where are my things?" the brunette walked over to the bedside cabinet and pulled out a small stack of clothes and a wallet.

"Your sister made sure these would be available for you," the brunette told Claire. Claire could tell the nurses were still in shock over seeing her awake and perfectly fine.

When they left the room, Claire changed into the clothes Serah had left for her. The clothes were barely big enough for Claire but they were better than wearing hospital regulation sweats into the Shinra building. Flipping through her wallet, she was glad to see her SOLDIER identification card, electronic banking card, and her key card to her room in the SOLDIER barracks. Unfortunately, all the cards had expired while she was asleep. Luckily for Claire, if she wasn't thrown out of the building for impersonating a SOLDIER, Shinra would replace all the cards for her.

It took Claire four hours to convince the receptionist, and several members of security, that she was indeed one of the SOLDIER operatives that was proclaimed missing in action four years ago. Understandable precautions as it would not be the first time a former operative returned with the intention of murdering the President or some other high ranking official. She was finally sent up to the SOLDIER Director's office to be reinstated and have her identification renewed.

When the elevator doors opened the first thing Claire noticed was the massive red diamond logo of the Shinra Electric Power Company. Claire strode into the office with purpose and came face to face with the new SOLDIER Director. The first thing Claire noticed was, the new Director was a woman and the plaque on the desk read Director Q. Trepe. She had long blond hair which was tied back with the exception of her bangs which framed her face, she was wearing an orange zip up vest brown sleeves that were not connected to the vest and dark brown gloves. Since the woman was sitting at the desk, Claire could not see what else she was wearing.

"Hello, I am-" Claire began.

"Lightning Farron," the Director finished "Forgive the lack of formalities but I have already been notified. I am SOLDIER's new Director, Quistis Trepe. It is good to see you looking so healthy," Director Trepe had read over all the medical reports and knew they had stated Lightning would be paralyzed, which was quite false now.

"I figure you will take care of my reinstatement," Claire said.

"Of course. Your room is just as you left it and I will have your weapon and new uniform sent there once you settle in."

"My weapon?" Claire could remember using a prototype sword that she had called Blaze Edge. Director Trepe leaned over to her terminal and worked it for a moment.

"You used the prototype gunblade for a few years and since you've been out of service the project has been completed. The finished product is stronger, lighter, transforms faster, and is less likely to jam," Director Trepe smiled at Claire "Your constant use of the prototype Blazefire Sabre payed off greatly. I look forward to working with you in the future Lightning."

"As do I," Claire said before leaving.

"By the way, I will contact your sister, Serah. This will obviously be quite a shock to her," Claire knew Serah would be over the moon at the news that her big sister was awake after four years.

The first thing the pink haired SOLDIER operative did when she reached her room was take a hot shower. After dressing in the sleepwear that all operatives were supplied with, a muscle shirt and boxer shorts that were colored to match the Classes, Claire stood in front of the tall mirror to brush her hair but something stopped her. She leaned in close and saw that there were faint traces of green in her ice-blue eyes and her pupils were not perfectly round. Deciding she was just seeing things because of being in a coma for four years, Claire started to examine herself.

Claire could only describe herself as immaculate. The only scar she had was the thin one above her naval, not even the scars from Genesis' rapier were present. That was only the tip of the iceberg of changes. Her once well defined muscles were now hidden by flesh but the strength was still there, her hips were far more round then she remembered, her flesh was soft, smooth, and hairless for the most part. She reached and touched her lips which now fuller, softer, and smooth. Claire realized she had become exactly what she had heard many men claim to be perfect.

Stepping back and turning away from the mirror, Claire caught a glimpse of a framed picture of her, Serah, and their adoptive father Sephiroth. She stared at the picture for a long while and felt mental vibrations none too different from the vibrations one feels at the platform of an arriving train. Claire tried to force the train with her memories to arrive but the harder she tried the further away the train seemed. Without warning, her mental vibrations became physical and the entire building was shaking as if an earthquake was shaking the entirety of Midgar. Claire raced to the door and hit the button to make it open. She grabbed one of the Third Class operatives that was running by and made him face her.

"What's going on?" Claire asked quickly.

"Reactor One just exploded!" the Third shouted back, surprised by Claire and by the fact she was wearing the dark clothes of First Class, even though it was only sleepwear "It was Avalanche!"

Claire growled at the mention of the name of the terrorist group. She released the Third Class operative and closed the door to her room. There was nothing she could do without her uniform or weapon. Since she could not take part in pursuing Avalanche, Claire decided to go to the gym reserved for SOLDIER members, just a floor below the barracks. She was glad it was common to see operatives wandering around in sleepwear as it was the exact same style of clothes as gym-wear.

As Claire lay on the cushioned bench and lifted the barbell with nearly three times her own weight on it, she thought about Avalanche. She told herself that Avalanche had made a big mistake in attacking her home city and she would personally take down Avalanche. The next time Avalanche decided to make a move, she would be there to stop them. To kill them.

* * *

With their ears still ringing, Snow and Serah stared at what used to be Mako Reactor One. Serah could not believe that Avalanche would destroy a Reactor in Midgar. Undoubtedly, hundreds of people were killed in the initial blast, many more by the smoke and fire inside the reactor, and possibly hundreds more by the debris that was launched into Sectors One and Eight. The pink haired Turk hoped, more than anything right now, that the Mako reservoir had not been ruptured, otherwise it would pour into the Sector One slums and kill many more people. Serah knew it was Avalanche because they were the only group, other than Cocoon but they would not start a war, that still openly opposed Shinra.

"I can't believe it," Snow muttered.

"What?" Serah asked, barely hearing what Snow said because of the ringing in her ears.

"I didn't think they would blow it up," Snow muttered again, seemingly oblivious to Serah.

"Who?" Serah asked.

"Do you have any skills with a weapon?" Snow suddenly asked her.

"Yes, with a compound bow. But why?" Serah was getting more confused by the second.

"Go get it and meet me back at Lebreau's, okay?" Snow was looking right into Serah's eyes and she could see he was trying to look calm but his eyes were filled with both anger and panic.

"Okay," Serah said back to him, thankful he had forgotten about his proposal in the heat of the moment.

Serah was lucky with the train schedule and was able to get to her apartment in under an hour. She sprinted up the stairs, quickly unlocked the door and found her bow. Slinging the quiver onto her back, Serah grabbed the bow and made her way out of her apartment, locking it behind her. Luckily she got back to the platform before the train was finished refueling and was able to get back to Sector Seven in record time for her. Walking into Lebreau's cafe/bar she saw Maqui, Yuj, Gadot, and Lebreau holding assault rifles and remembered that Snow had said he prefers to fight with his hands.

"Hey Serah. What's with the _rod_ and _arrows_?" Yuj asked genuinely confused about the choice. Serah unfolded the bow to show it off "Oh, that's a bow. Why do you have that?"

"I'm going with you guys," Serah replied.

"Right," Lebreau said skeptically "Snow you can't be serious about bringing this skirt down to the slums," Serah wanted to laugh at at Lebreau.

"She will be fine. If it comes up, I will protect her. Besides that is not the point of this trip," Snow explained "We are wasting time and we are going to miss the train."

The members of NORA and Serah rode the train in silence but Serah could hear the tension in the air. Not one word was passed between the group but every so often, one of them would mutter something about the Reactor explosion or Avalanche. Serah was getting really curious as to what she was going to find out and if it would be the information she had been waiting a very long time to find out.

After getting off the train at the platform adjacent to the train graveyard, NORA purposefully walked through the slums. Serah glanced at the pillar holding Sector Seven in place as they passed by the base of it. Many residents of the slums sent a glare towards the group or spat where they were going to be walking. Almost no resident of the plate was welcome down in the slums even if their reason for being below the plate was noble.

NORA stopped out front of a small bar called 7th Heaven. Snow glanced around at the group before heading up the front steps, the rest of his group on his heels. When they entered the bar Snow walked straight up to the counter, to the woman with long dark brown hair, a white tank top, black miniskirt, gloves with materia slots, and a rather large bust.

"Where's Barret?" Snow all but growled.

Just then the pinball machine, and the floor below it, dropped down then rose soon after. A large dark skinned man with a gun in place of his right hand was standing on the platform and looked confused at the group in 7th Heaven. Serah knew all about this man, Barret Wallace, Shinra has been after him for several years.

"Barret!" Gadot shouted. Snow spun towards the large man with the gun arm.

"You never said anything about a damn bomb that big!" Snow shouted.

"Well if it ain't _NORA_," Barret said NORA in a mocking tone "The hell did ya think we were gonna do?"

"You said you were going to disable the reactor!" Serah knew Snow was upset about all the possible innocent deaths. It was also upsetting Serah.

"Do you really think jus' turnin' that damn thing off would make Shinra learn anythin'?" Barret was roaring now.

"Do you have any idea how many innocent people were killed by that blast?" Lebreau shouted, joining the argument.

"It was that punk that designed the damn bomb with Jessie!" Barret yelled while motioning towards Maqui.

"Obviously you guys did something to my design because it was not supposed to that kind of damage!" Maqui did not sound nearly as threatening as the others in this shouting match.

The argument faded into background noise as Serah noticed the pinball machine slide down again. She watched it come out of the floor with another passenger. They were a spiky blond haired man with Mako blue eyes, the uniform of a SOLDIER First and a very large sword on his back. Serah recognized the sword from many years ago, when she first met Angeal. Serah wanted to know why this blond haired man was wielding the Buster Sword, the SOLDIER symbol of honor and fortitude. More importantly, Avalanche had a rogue SOLDIER First working with them, this is something Tseng would need to know. Serah just had to learn his name first.

**Hmmm… Nope, nothing to say about this chapter. Other than,I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Let me know if anything needs to be fixed and please leave a review. Reviews make me happy and I write more faster when I'm happy.**

* * *

**Edit: I made many grammar and spelling corrections that I missed. I really need a beta-reader.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Edit: changed authors note and re-wrote the ending of the chapter, hope you all like this one.  
**

**Concerning last chapter, When I said she noticed her breasts were bigger, I just meant she noticed a difference because she had been asleep for four years. **

While NORA had a shouting match with the current leader of AVALANCHE, Barret Wallace, the bartender and the rogue SOLDIER with Angeal's sword retreated to a corner to talk. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Serah slipped out of the bar to send a message to Tseng. Standing on the porch of 7th Heaven, Serah pulled her special phone out of her purse and quickly typed up a text message to Tseng for it would be too risky to make an actual call. As she placed her phone back in her purse she thought about how many messages were on her regular phone that was sitting on a table in her apartment.

* * *

Tseng was sitting at his desk in his office enjoying a hot cup of coffee and watching the news which was about the destroyed Mako Reactor. The death toll was still unconfirmed but the number was well over six hundred but the director of the Turks did not even flinch at the news. It was a tragedy that so many had died and thousands were left without power but there was nothing Tseng could do about it so why should it weigh on his mind?

As he took another sip of his coffee he heard his phone beep and vibrate slightly. He slowly placed the mug of coffee on a coaster just to the right of his terminal and grabbed his phone. The front display said he had a new message from Serah Farron, which did nothing to hurry him in flipping the phone open. He scanned the text message quickly and felt his eyes widen at a couple of words which made him read it again a bit more carefully.

_Avalanche has a rogue SOLDIER. Spiky blond hair, Angeal's sword. Haven't learned his name yet. Will send a picture ASAP._

Tseng sat in a stunned silence for nearly five minutes before moving. He quickly replied with a short message '_picture unneeded_' he already knew who it was. The man who had been spotted with Zack several times before the dark haired warrior's near death, the other of the two escaped subjects from Nibelheim, the former militia member that had taken down Sephiroth. Cloud Strife. Tseng could not believe it, although it would explain a few things. One being why Zack did not have the Buster Sword with him on that cliff and how Avalanche had been able to fight their way into Reactor One.

Tseng flipped his phone closed and climbed out of his chair. He needed to inform the SOLDIER Director about the situation right away.

* * *

Serah slipped back inside 7th Heaven, without being noticed, just as the argument came to an end. The rogue operative and the bartender were still in a corner talking about something and Snow and Barret looked to be having a civil discussion. The other three NORA members looked as if they were guarding Snow.

"So it's settled then," Snow announced "Me and Gadot are going with you to Reactor Five. Lebreau, Yuj, take Maqui and Serah back up to Sector Seven."

"What?" Serah blurted out making everyone look at her "No. If you're going, I'm going. There are some things I want Shinra to pay for," the dark tone Serah used seem to surprise everyone.

"Okay..." Snow said in a wary tone.

"Quite the fire in her," Barret commented "A'ight. Those going to the reactor can stay below. The rest of you take your asses home," the dark skinned leader made his way over to the pinball machine and lowered it. The platform returned after a minute.

Serah knew she had to take the first chance she got to report this news to Tseng. She was glad to know that she could get a chance to prevent many more people from getting hurt by these reckless terrorists. Unfortunately, Serah's only chance to send a message would be after Barret, Snow, and the SOLDIER had gone to sleep for the assumed night.

* * *

"Director Trepe," Tseng said as he entered the SOLDIER director's office.

"Director Tseng," Quistis replied with a barely noticeable smirk.

"I need your best men ready to depart at a moment's notice," Tseng stated to the blond woman, who replied with a questioning gaze "My agent informed me Avalanche has a rogue SOLDIER first working for them. No I.D. on them yet."

"But all the SOLDIER firsts were confirmed dead before I took this position," Quistis was genuinely confused by the news of a rogue SOLDIER First Class Operative.

"To be fair, Director Trepe," Tseng said without emotion "Both Genesis Rhapsodos and Zack Fair were confirmed dead twice. The second time for them both fairly recently," Tseng recalled the report of some unidentified Shinra troops finding the body of Genesis in the Banora ruins but the report said nothing of what happened to the body. Tseng chose not to pursue that topic as he did not report what had happened to the 'body' of Zack.

"Why wasn't I told this?"

"It doesn't matter. You need to focus on getting troops ready to fight a rogue Operative."

"Where will they be heading?"

"My contact will tell me when they find out what Avalanche will be attacking."

"You don't know yet?" Director Trepe nearly shouted at Tseng.

"That's why I said your troops will need to be ready to depart at a moment's notice," Tseng pointed out.

"Alright. I'll let you know when they're ready," Tseng could tell he had just made Director Trepe's day worse.

As Tseng was leaving, Director Trepe leaned back in her chair, took off her glasses, and placed her left hand over her eyes. She knew she would be sending at least two SOLDIER Operatives to their deaths and that would mean a small mountain of paperwork. Knowingly sending some Operatives to their deaths would also put Shinra's already failing reputation and her job in jeopardy. Then she realized something that had slipped her mind moments before, there is a SOLDIER First Class ready for battle. Not to mention, sending one SOLDIER First would much less paperwork. Quistis put her glasses back on and leaned forward to make a call. When the recipient answered, Director Trepe started to speak before they had a chance to speak.

"Operative Lightning Farron, this is Director Trepe. Please report to my office as soon as possible."

Claire flipped her phone closed and proceeded out of the SOLDIER gym. When she reached her room, she found a new uniform and a sheathed weapon. She quickly climbed out of her sleep wear and into the new uniform before inspecting the new weapon. It looked just like the weapon Claire had used before but it was lighter, just as the Director said, and it had two words engraved on the blade. Blazefire Sabre. But to Claire, it was Blaze Edge and it felt good to reunited with this particular friend. She clipped the sheath for the new Blaze Edge to her SOLDIER midriff belt and walked out of her room.

As soon as Claire strode into Director Trepe's office, the blond took note of her.

"Good to see you adjusting back so well," Director Trepe commented.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Claire said back, slightly more rudely than she meant.

"Fair enough," Trepe said with a wave of her hand "Director Tseng-"

"Director Tseng?" Claire was uneasy about that statement.

"Tseng was named Director of the Turks a while back. Back to what I was saying before," Trepe had read in several reports that Lightning was a lot like Sephiroth, stubborn, and generally distrusting "Director Tseng has asked for you to be ready to ship out at a moment's notice."

"Since when is he my, or your, boss?" Claire crossed her arms as she spoke.

"As soon as his contact tells him, you'll be on your way to destroy whats left of Avalanche," Director Trepe said dismissively.

Claire was at a loss. She wanted to fight Avalanche because they were making life in Midgar dangerous for everyone. But that meant she would be working with the Turks. They were nothing more than criminals being paid to be even worse criminals. Claire never wanted anything to do with the Turks, not the kind of people she even wanted to be seen with. In the end, Claire's hatred for Avalanche trumped her hatred for the Turks.

"I'll be ready," Claire stated before walking out of the office.

Claire returned to her room and started the long wait. She paced the room for what seemed like an hour to her and let out a sigh when she saw it had only been minutes. Wandering the SOLDIER floor was her next choice and she stuck to it for a couple of hours. Claire had always hated waiting for a mission. It made her feel powerless or worse, useless. Returning to her room, Claire decided to read one of her books, the novelization of the Loveless play. Claire never cared for the actual play, or the poem it was based on, but the novel had always been one of her favorites. A fact Claire would never admit to anyone. After three chapters she decided to lay on her bed and eventually drifted off to sleep.

The pinkette awoke to her phone ringing and swiftly retrieved it. She briefly glanced at the display to see what the time was. Claire was more than surprised she had been asleep for nearly eight hours and quickly flipped the phone open.

"Director Trepe," Claire said stiffly.

"Where the hell have you been?" Trepe shouted "I have been trying to reach you for the better part of an hour!"

"I apologize Director Trepe. I dozed off while reading."

"You dozed – never mind. Hurry up and get to the helipad. Scarlet's newest project, the Air Buster, is already en route," Trepe stated "Get there first and prove that SOLDIER is still Shinra's best asset."

"Yes ma'am," Claire replied before flipping the phone closed and rushing out of her room.

* * *

"Come on! We need to get out of here!" Snow shouted to the others.

The group had planted the bomb in the core of the reactor and were trying get out of the area before it detonated. This bomb was made to not have as much power as the previous one but it was still an extremely dangerous high explosive. It was intended to to either shred the inside to render the reactor completely useless or completely obliterate the machinery that pumped Mako energy out of the planet so it would be decommissioned for at least several months.

As the group consisting of Barret, Tifa, Snow, Serah, and Cloud, escaped the reactor onto the catwalk between Sectors Five and Six, they all saw a large blueish-green robot approaching them.

"Snow! Serah! You two get out of here!" Tifa shouted to them.

"What? No!" Snow shouted back.

"Get of here! Shinra doesn't need to know about you two!" Snow was torn between listening to Tifa and staying to help her. Even though he really did not want to leave, she had a good point and the sound of an approaching helicopter made up his mind.

"Come on Serah, we need to get back to Lebreau's," Snow glanced over his shoulder and saw Tifa and Barret between him, Serah, and the robot.

* * *

The helicopter ride from the Shinra Headquarters to Reactor Five was a very short one. Claire spotted three people surrounding the Air Buster, which looked like it had taken a sever amount of damage already. As the helicopter passed over them, the pink haired operative jumped out of the helicopter and landed behind the blond haired SOLDIER. She drew her Blazefire Saber and froze when she saw the Buster Sword in the hands of the mysterious SOLDIER. The young man himself was familiar to Claire but she could not attach a name to his face.

"Why do you have Zack's sword?" Claire asked the blond man.

"You knew Zack?" the young man replied, sounding confused.

"Die! You Shinra junk heap!" the pinkette heard a woman shout. Claire assumed she was on the other side of Air Buster.

A woman with long dark hair, a white tank top, and a black miniskirt landed on the Air Busters head and she started to pull on the face plate. She and Claire made eye contact and, to Claire, the woman looked like she had seen a ghost. The Air Buster reached up, grabbed the woman and threw to the ground but since the woman had been holding onto the face plate, it was ripped right off the mounts. A series of gunshots rang out and sparks shot out of the Air Buster, making the robot twitch wildly. With very little warning, the robot exploded in a ball of blue flame.

The catwalk shattered under the explosion and the blond swordsman fell but grabbed onto a mangled rod. Claire looked between the large dark skinned man with a gun arm, the woman, and the supposed SOLDIER dangling at her feet. She switched Blaze Edge into gun mode and took aim at the blond's forehead. Before she could pull the trigger, the floor rumbled, flames roared out of the Reactor, and the loudest explosion Claire had ever heard ripped through the air. The blond fell because of the rumbling and the woman shouted something that was impossible for Claire to hear because of the explosion. Assuming the blond would be killed by the fall, Claire started to walk backwards to have enough space to run and jump the gap. The dark skinned man and the woman quickly made their escape when they saw Claire preparing to go after them. Claire's gaze shot over to the Reactor when she felt the catwalk suddenly lurch to the side.

She saw that the explosion had severed the catwalk by the the Reactor. Her eyes grew wide as she realized that the T shaped catwalk had been severed at two points. Claire spun around to run along the remaining path but it vanished from under her feet as it failed to hold itself. Flicking Blaze Edge into sword mode and burying the blade in the catwalk was the only way to ensure she did not fall to her own death. As the catwalk swung down, the piece that had connected to the Reactor broke off and sailed into the Sector Five slums.

The piece of the catwalk Claire was hanging off of continued to swing down gaining immense speed. She heard the sound of steel buckling and tearing and felt her sword slip out of the steel mesh of the catwalk. Because of the pendulum swing of the wrecked catwalk and her sword sliding free, Claire sailed through the air under the plate of Sector Six with the tumbling catwalk behind her. As the pinkette flew close to the plate, she took hold of one of the many very thick wires. The loose catwalk tumbled to the ground and flipped end over end, destroying dozens of shanties.

Claire looked around and wondered what she was going to do. Hanging from a wire fifty meters off the ground with no visible escape route was not exactly covered in her training. Sheathing Blaze Edge, Claire started making her way to one end of the wire but felt something that made a chill run up her spine. The wire shifted again making her freeze and grab the wire with a death grip. A loud pop and a rain of sparks signaled the wire tearing free at one end and Claire started to swing once again.

The shredded end of the wire made contact with the bottom of Claire's boot and near lethal voltage shot through her. If she had not been enhanced with Mako, the electricity would have fried her nerves and her brain. Unfortunately for Claire, the electricity severely weakened her, making her lose her grip. The pinkette sailed downwards and crashed through the roof of the largest structure in Sector Six.

Shaking, Claire pushed herself up as much as her arms could handle. Her vision swayed and blurred with the exertion but she knew she had to get out of the slums, especially Sector Six. She was able to get her knees under her and sat back on her feet. Minor muscle spasms wracked her body as her brain and nerve system tried to recover from the powerful electric shock she had received and the rough landing after falling roughly ninety feet. Claire thought she spotted three men approaching her and struggled to her feet and drew Blaze Edge.

"Well, well, well. What are the chances of this happening?" one of the men said, Claire couldn't see who had spoke because of her blurred vision but the voice was vaguely familiar "How long has it been?"

"Almost ten years now," another of the three men stated "I wonder where that sister of hers is,"

"Who are you?" Claire tried asking in her most intimidating voice. The three men laughed.

"She doesn't remember us!" the third man laughed "Doesn't matter. My jaw remembers you, Pinky."

Suddenly remembering exactly where she had last heard the three voices, Claire lunged at them even though she could barely stand. The men laughed as they dodged her wild swings and shots. They knew she was a First Class SOLDIER Operative due to the uniform but they were also aware of how disoriented she was. Claire let out a feral growl at how the men continued to laugh at her and how her body still refused to work correctly.

As she charged at them once again, two of the men grabbed her arms. The man holding her right arm pulled Blaze Edge out of her grasp and threw it aside. Claire kicked at the man to her left and successfully broke his knee making him scream in pain but he refused to let go of the pinkette.

"Hurry up, will ya!" the man on Claire's right shouted.

The pinkette felt something tiny pierce her neck and knew instantly it had been a needle. The size had given it away and she knew it was filled with a tranquilizer. She felt her limbs and eyelids grow heavy and the men release her. Quickly turning to flee the area, she tripped over her own foot and fell to the ground, dirt and dust covering her front. Claire tried to push herself up again but she felt as if her muscles had the strength of an overcooked noodle. As Claire slipped into unconsciousness, she felt the men pick her up.

**Please leave a review and tell me if something needs correction/improvement.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the ridiculous wait for this chapter. All I can say about this chapter is buckle up, and there is some gore later on. **

The blond lay on the not so comfortable bed and stared at the ceiling, not really seeing it. He was deep in thought about many things. How he had survived the fall from the Reactor, who that pink haired woman was, why she seemed familiar, and why she stired feelings of absolute hatred and fury in him. It made no sense to the warrior. He had no memory of the pink haired SOLDIER Operative but he felt like he knew her. All he was sure of was he had to get back to Sector Seven, find Tifa, and find out more about the pink haired SOLDIER.

Cloud swung his legs off the bed and grabbed the Buster Sword, the sword his friend Zack Fair passed to him with his dying breath. Quietly he made his way out of the house that belong to the flower girl, Aerith, and her mother. Without pause or any breaks he made his through the Sector Five slums towards the giant concrete wall that separated Sector Five from Sector Six. The blond warrior was more than surprised when he saw Aerith at the hole in the wall, waiting for him.

"Aerith? How-" Cloud sputtered, not being able to wrap his head around how she got here first.

"It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes," Aerith said with a smile and a giggle. She was amusing herself by trying to sound stern. Cloud felt like an idiot, she had been expecting him to leave and left first to meet him.

"Well if you're coming along, stay close," Cloud told her as he walked through the hole in the wall.

After finding their way to Sector Six, Cloud and Aerith stopped at the small playground that was just as dusty and gray as the rest of the city below the Midgar plate. The duo made small talk but Cloud's mind was worlds away. He was still wrapped up in his thoughts on the pink haired warrior. She had known Zack, and wore the uniform of a SOLDIER First but he still had no idea who she was. Is it possible Zack had introduced them? If the former raven haired warrior had, Cloud could not remember it. The whole thing was starting to infuriate the blond,

"Cloud?" Aerith asked as she lightly shook his arm.

"Hm?" Cloud grunted as he looked at her.

"You looked angry and confused. Something on your mind?"

"Nothing important," the blond stated as he looked away from the bright green eyes of the brunette.

The bulkhead separating Sector Six and Seven behind them started to open with a roar as the motor came to life. The giant steel shutter screeched as it was dragged across the aged track in the ground making the blond and brunette wince. Through the gap came a chocobo drawn carriage, Aerith immediately recognized it as the one that belonged to Don Corneo. As the cart turned down a side path, the bulkhead started to close with the same roar and screeching, Cloud and Aerith noticed a woman standing in the back of the carriage dressed in a very revealing dark blue outfit. Aerith felt sorry for the woman being taken to the Don's mansion but Cloud instantly recognized her face.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouted as he climbed off the dome above the slide he and Aerith had been sitting on. Aerith was right on his tail.

"You know her?" Aerith asked curiously.

"Where is that cart going?" Cloud nearly shouted at the flower girl.

"The Don's mansion," With that, Cloud was racing after it.

The duo lost sight of the cart when they entered the slum town of Wall Market. Aerith directed Cloud towards the mansion where Don Corneo lived, knowing Cloud was intending on tearing the place apart. However, when they reached the mansion, Cloud stopped dead in his tracks. There was a near battalion of armed men standing guard just outside of the front doors. The blond knew that trying to break in was far more than stupid.

"Great. Now how am I-"

"A disguise!" Aerith stated cheerfully to Cloud. He threw the brunette a cautious questioning look "Although, it will be funny to see you in a dress."

"What?" Cloud just about shouted.

"Have another idea about getting in there?" Aerith motioned towards the mansion and Cloud sighed in defeat.

"This stays between us," Cloud warned Aerith, the unspoken threat very clear in his tone.

* * *

Tifa followed the driver of the cart through the covered courtyard of the Don's mansion and briefly wondered why there was a hole in the roof as she looked around. She hated herself for going with this plan and was starting to worry that she had made the wrong choice. When she entered the actual mansion, the brawler was dumbfounded. It was well lit, very clean, and the design was just like the buildings in Wutai. Just beside the door was a desk with another man standing behind it, almost like a receptionist.

"Well, aren't you a fine piece of ass," The man at the desk said proudly. Tifa looked at him, trying very hard not send him through a wall and had to try much harder when she saw he was shamelessly staring at her chest "You know where to take her," the desk man said to the one leading Tifa.

The brawler was lead up the stairs opposite the desk and then taken to the farthest door. The man opened the door and motioned for her to go in. Tifa only saw a stone staircase leading down, really far down, that was poorly lit. Carefully taking each step, Tifa descended the stairs and the worried feeling had grew into something just short of terror.

The room looked far too similar to a dungeon for Tifa's comfort. On one side of the room were large cages,shackles attached to the brick wall by a chain, and chains attached to collars hanging on hooks. The other side of the room had all manner of really disturbing machines that were meant for a very different kind of torture. Along the same wall were shackles that were attached directly to the wall and just over the top of one of the machines, Tifa spotted a pair of hands locked into a pair of the shackles.

Disbelief and shock crossed the brawlers face when she saw the pink haired operative from the Reactor, from Nibelheim. Tifa knelt down and placed her hands on the soldier's face to gently force her to make eye contact. The soldier's eyes slowly opened and from the dilation of her pupils, and the unfocused stare, the brawler knew instantly she was heavily drugged.

"Serah?" the soldier slurred "Wait, you're not Serah. Who are you?"

"Tifa," she was not sure why she responded, it was unlikely the soldier would remember anything after sobering up "I'm gonna get you out of here... somehow."

Glancing down, Tifa saw that the soldier was only wearing a black sports bra and tight black short shorts. She assumed Corneo's men took her clothes and weapon but Tifa was positive that if the SOLDIER Operative were to become sober, she could fight her way with her bare fists. Tifa scanned the room for anything that might let her break the shackles but did not see anything that could be useful.

"Well Tifa," the soldier sounded strangely cheerful "I am Lighting – er – Light-Ning, and your shirt is _WAY_ to small for you," Tifa smirked at the soldiers amused tone.

After several minutes of searching for something to break the lock to the shackles, Tifa found nothing that would be even remotely helpful. She decided to just sit next to and try to comfort the drugged soldier, that clearly had no clue what was going on. Some pressure on her arm made Tifa look over and saw that the soldier had fallen asleep and was leaning against her to get somewhat comfortable.

The door to the dungeon like room banged open and two people were making their way down the stairs. Tifa gently awakened the soldier and got to her feet just as the two newcomers reached the foot of the stairs. One of them was a young woman with long chestnut brown hair, and a low cut red dress. The other was a young woman with lemon blond hair and a blue dress, but there was something very strange about the blond to Tifa. It took her several moments to figure out what it was and a few minutes to work through her disbelief.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked. The slight blush rising into the 'woman's' cheeks told her she was right about her suspicion.

There was something deeply disturbing about Cloud's disguise to Tifa. With some make up, lip gloss, mascara, and long hair, Cloud looked almost just like the soldier shackled to the wall. That was when a very important fact jumped forward in Tifa's mind. She grabbed Cloud's arm and pulled him over to where he could see Claire and the Tifa felt his arm tense when he saw her.

"Cloud, we have to help her," Tifa told her blond friend.

"What?" Cloud looked like Tifa had just asked him to chop off his right arm "Tifa, she works for the Shinra, she's our enemy."

"So it's okay to just leave her here?"

Before Cloud could reply, the door opened once again and footsteps were heard on the stairs. One of Corneo's men entered the dungeon, walked with purpose over to Claire, unlocked the shackles and pulled her to her feet. He made eye contact with Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud before motioning to the door.

"It is time ladies," his voice was deep and rough.

The five ascended the stairs and entered the Don's office. There the three women and Cloud were lined up shoulder to shoulder, with Claire on the end being held up by the man that retrieved them. Don Corneo got up from his desk, walked up to them, and closely examined them like he was comparing different vehicles. After several minutes of walking back and forth in front of the women, and Cloud, and carefully examining them, Corneo made his choice.

"I'm going to take this dark haired beauty," Corneo motioned for Tifa to step forward "And the SOLDIER member," Claire lazily looked up at the overweight blonde man "You boys can have the blond and the one in red."

Corneo ushered Tifa into the back room and helped Claire walk in to the room. Cloud and Aerith were guided out of the office by the other two men and then sent to different rooms. Cloud was guided into a room with several men on a few couches and instantly had several unpleasant images fly through his head about what happened to women in this room.

The moment the door was shut, Cloud spun and slammed his fist into the jaw of the man that escorted him. Right after, Cloud crouched low to dodge a punch from a man that charged at him and used his leg to sweep the man's legs, making him fall to the floor with a thud. He then pushed himself up and performed a back flip to kick a charging man in the face and when he landed, spun to punch another man in the eye. The last two men on their feet looked to each then at Cloud and together they reached into the coats and started to pull out guns. Cloud quickly ran at one man, grabbed him, and threw him at the other man. They landed in a tangle of limbs and struggled to get up but before they could, Cloud walked up and kicked each in the face, knocking them out. The blond looked around and was thankful for his superior strength, without it, the fight would have taken longer and he most likely would have lost.

Cloud pulled the wig off his head and ripped the dress in two before leaving the room to retrieve the Buster Sword. The two guards at the front door were no problem for Cloud and the sturdy doors. After grabbing the Buster Sword from its hiding place, Cloud ran back in to help Aerith but saw her standing outside the Don's office. He gave her a confused look and she said she just ran away from the man that had taken her and pushed him down the stairs. When Cloud looked, he just saw a crumbled, bloody, body at the foot of the concrete stairs. He had to admit, it was a simple but effective way to get rid of someone.

The duo charged through the Don's office to the back room and were stunned by surprise. The pink haired woman was sitting on the floor leaning against the large bed, rubbing her face as the drugs started to wear off. And on the bed was Tifa and the Don but the Don was face down with Tifa holding him down in a choke hold and holding one arm in a position to break his shoulder.

"Might want to help her get dressed," Tifa said referring to Claire, exhaustion thick in her voice as the Don had been fighting her for a long time.

Cloud and Aerith spotted the black SOLDIER uniform in the corner of the room along with a strange looking sword and a boxy sheath. Once the pink haired SOLDIER Operative was clothed Tifa released Corneo and stood with the others, facing him. Cloud took the Buster Sword off his back and pointed it at Corneo.

"You're Shinra's informant, do you know anything about Avalanche?" Cloud demanded.

"I-I was hired to find out about the man with the gun arm! I don't know anything else!" Corneo sounded frightened but Tifa knew he knew more than he let on.

"Tell us more or I will smash _them_," Tifa growled. Corneo's eyes looked ready to jump out of his skull.

"I told the Shinra where Avalanche's base was!"

"What!" Tifa shouted "What are they going to do?"

"I don't know, they don't tell me anything!"

"Tell us or I will rip _them _off," Aerith threatened in an innocent tone, making her seem partially insane. It had a strong effect on Corneo, who actually looked down at his groin in horror.

"Shinra's gonna drop Sector Seven! They're gonna destroy the support pillar!" Corneo shouted.

"What?" Tifa nearly whispered in horror "Cloud, we have to go now!" Cloud nodded to Tifa and placed the Buster Sword on his back.

"Wait! There is something else..." Corneo said to get their attention.

As they looked towards Corneo, the overweight blond man flipped a switch on his bed post and the floor at their feet fell away. Just as the floor started to move, Claire felt the tranquilizing drugs leave her system and full control of her body and mind came back. She sprung to the side just as the floor fully opened beneath the blond warrior and the two brunette women. The three fell down and Claire landed beside the trap hole. The pinkette drew her weapon, switched it into gun-mode, and pointed it at Corneo, who had a look of utter surprise on his flabby face.

"Don Corneo," Claire started in a deadly tone "You just gave secret information to enemies of Shinra and attempted to sexually assault a First Class SOLDIER Operative."

Claire knew she was supposed to arrest the man currently staring down the barrel of her weapon but she did not move to do anything. She continued to look into the blond man's terrified eyes and felt her finger twitch on the trigger. Then she heard something, not from anywhere around her, but from her mind, the voice of a man and a woman speaking in unison.

_He is just a parasite. Kill him._

"You are no longer useful to Shinra," Claire pulled the trigger and the wall behind Corneo was sprayed with red. The blond man fell to his bed, a small round hole in the middle of his forehead, and Claire slowly lowered her weapon and slipped it back into the sheath "Pathetic fat bastard," Claire said to herself before turning and leaving. She knew that her best way to get back onto the plate, Sector Seven would be her best bet.

* * *

"Do you think they're okay?" The dark haired bar tender asked the blond giant.

"I really do hope so," Snow replied before taking a sip of the beer in his hand.

"We haven't heard anything from them in two days," Gadot stated "They probably got caught by Shinra."

"They haven't been caught," Serah replied quickly, too quickly in her opinion "Shinra would have announced that they caught the _evil_ Avalanche."

"You got a good point there, girlie," Lebreau agreed, poking fun at Serah.

Suddenly the door to the bar banged open revealing Maqui and Yuj. The short blond almost fell down and the man with blue dyed hair almost trampled the kid. Everyone inside the bar, which was only Snow, Lebreau, Gadot, and Serah at this time of day, looked over at the two that just barged in. At the same time, Serah's phone vibrated to tell her she received a text message.

"Guys, you have to come see this!" Maqui shouted as he pulled himself off the floor of Lebreaus Cafe/Bar.

The group followed the youngest member out of the Cafe and through the streets. As they walked Serah looked at the message she received and was worried the moment she saw the words: _ Get out of Sector 7 ASAP! _It was obvious nothing good was going to happen soon. When the group reached where Maqui and Yuj were leading them, they all saw a massive crowd at one of the many openings in the wall of Sector Seven. The crowd was yelling at someone, trying to figure out what was going on and Snow was a great aid in fighting towards the front of the crowd where they saw a line of Shinra militia standing shoulder to shoulder with their assault rifles pointed and ready to fire at the crowd. Serah noticed not one soldier was on the Sector Seven side of the joint in the road.

"People of Sector Seven, return to your homes! Due to the terrorist attacks, the Mayor of Midgar has enforced a curfew! Please return to your homes where you are safe!" A voice yelled over a megaphone.

"This isn't right!" Lebreau shouted just to be heard by the others.

"I know!" Snow shouted back.

"Do you actually think this is about Avalanche!" Yuj asked the group.

* * *

**A couple of hours later**

She was having a hard time believing that she was currently working towards helping drop the Sector Seven plate. But as she made her way up the stairs, some words from Sephiroth echoed through her mind.

"_Claire, there is something I need to tell you," Sephiroth started with his calm tone, motioning to a chair in front of him. Claire took the hint and sat down then Sephiroth bent down on one knee so he was looking straight into her eyes "One day, could be tomorrow, could be years from now, Shinra is going to ask you to do something that goes completely against everything I taught you. When that happens, you must make a choice. Will you choose the few or the many?" the question confused Claire and Sephiroth saw that "Will you side with your morality and turn against Shinra to defend civilians that see us as freaks, or will you cast aside your morals to obey Shinra and keep Serah safe?"_

Those words from when Claire first joined SOLDIER was the only reason she was appraoching the top of the stairs. If dropping Sector Seven would Serah safe from Shinra, she would do it without a second thought. When she pulled herself out of her thoughts, she noticed she was on the round platform at the top of the stairs and there were only two more enemies.

Claire flipped backwards, firing several rounds at the duo she was fighting. She did not like where she was fighting, at the top of the staircase built on the side of the pillar under Sector Seven. The pinkette had already disposed of the two that had been on the actual stairs, the girl with the cowboy hat and the dark haired man with hairband, and now she was down to the chubby man with the baseball cap and the large dark skinned man with the gun arm.

As she charged again, several shots passed through the air beside her as she lunged sideways to avoid having her torso ripped open by the bullets. As the chubby man started to reload, she ran up to him with her far superior speed, grabbed him and simply threw him at the railing. She slightly misjudged her throw and the chubby man wound up hitting the railing and flipping over it, doomed to a long fall to his death. Just as the chubby man went over the railing the dark skinned man turned to see it.

"Wedge!" Barret shouted before letting out a feral roar and firing a volley of rounds at Claire.

As the pinkette dodged the volley, she heard the sound of a helicopter rotor approaching. As the helicopter got closer Barret looked between the vehicle and the pink haired soldier several times. The sound of feet clanging up the stairs caught Claire's attention and she saw the blond warrior and brunette from earlier. Without thinking, Claire spoke.

"What are you doing here?" Claire and Cloud asked at the same time.

Before either warrior could answer, the helicopter swooped in and a man in a disheveled suit with vibrant red hair jumped down the platform near the computer. He quickly got to his feet, took the last two steps toward the computer, and hit a few buttons.

"Mission Accomplished!" the red haired man shouted to no one.

"We have to stop it!" Tifa shouted. After Tifa spoke, Claire flipped Blaze Edge into gun-mode and fired several rounds into the computer. The helicopter flew in close and the red haired man took a look around at everyone.

"Well, uh, see ya!" he shouted before sprinting and jumping to the helicopter. A moment after the red haired man slipped inside a black haired man in a suit appeared, Claire immediately recognized Tseng, and Barret raised his gun arm.

"I would not suggest that," Tseng stated as he slid the door open more, revealing Aerith.

"Don't worry! She's safe!" Aerith shouted when she saw Cloud and Tifa. Tseng turned and slapped her to make stay quiet.

"Farron, I suggest you join me up here," Tseng said before sitting back down.

Claire looked at Barret, Tifa and Cloud before slipping Blaze Edge into its case. She turned, ran, and jumped to the helicopter just as it started to fly away. As she settled into her seat, Claire heard the thunderous crack of the pillar coming apart and forced herself not to think about what was going to happen soon.

* * *

Serah was frantically thinking about how she was going to get by the troops guarding the entrance to Sector Six. The only thing she had marking her as a Shinra employee was the special phone but that would not get her out of Sector Seven. AS she was wracking her brain trying to think of something, the ground suddenly dropped two inches. The entire crowd fell down and went silent.

In perfect unison, the crowd got to their feet, looked around, and as the reality sunk in, the all started to yell and charge the line of soldiers. The only people not charging were NORA and Serah. The crowd pushed down the fences that had been erected across the road and as they approached the soldiers, Serah heard one word she really did not want to hear.

"Fire!" the voice on the megaphone shouted, and the dozens of semi-automatic assault rifles held by the soldiers popped to life.

Snow grabbed Serah, spun to shield her from the gun fire, and made her crouch down. As bullets raced through the air and peppered the pavement, screams filled the air along with adrenaline fueled feral roars. The ground trembled and dropped another few inches, raising a alarm of imminent danger in NORA.

"Let's go! Now!" Lebreau shouted to the other members of NORA. When they looked up they saw the crowd had actually been able to break the line of soldiers.

Just as the NORA group, except Snow, climbed up onto the road going into Sector Six, the ground of Sector Seven, fell six feet then stopped. Several buildings throughout Sector Seven could be heard collapsing from the movement along with the sound of metal groaning from stress and stretching. Gadot and Yuj reached down for Snow while Lebreau, Serah, and Maqui went to help others that had not been able to make it. Just as Snow was pulled up, the groans of the metal turned into snaps, pops, and tearing, and the great steel wall enclosing Sector Seven came down at an alarming speed. The NORA group fled from the edge of the road and watched in horror as the top of the gate effortlessly sheered straight through several people that had been climbing up, their human bodies no match for the thousands of tons of steel and concrete. Less than a few seconds later, Secotor Seven crashed onto the ground, obliterating anything and everything underneath it and making every building on top collapse into a pile of steel, stone, and glass.

Not being able to stare at the void that used to be Sector Seven, Serah looked at everyone else. The NORA group and horror and disbelief on their faces as well as every other person in the area, including the soldiers. The only sound Serah could hear was her thundering heart, her ragged breathing, and the occasional piece of metal bouncing off of one of the countless beams that helped support Sector Seven. No one else was fighting or even talking but momentarily, the people started to recover somewhat. Serah heard many people muttering about Avalanche, many started to sob or bawl, and others fell to their knees and were silenced by what happened.

"They can't get away with this," Lebreau growled through tears.

"We won't let them," Gadot growled as well.

"W-what are w-we going to do?" Serah choked out. She was trying, and failing, to not cry. Snow silently turned away from the massive hole and looked towards the Shinra building.

"We hit them where they live," Snow said in the darkest tone she had ever heard from him.

**Please leave a review.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Uploaded: 11/20/2012**

**Edited: 11/23/2012**

It took the NORA group a couple of hours to reach the front doors of the Shinra tower. The entire trip was spent in solemn silence as they silently grieved for all their other friends that had passed in the fall of Sector Seven. Each member of the vigilante group wanted nothing less than to see the giant white eye sore engulfed in flame, or come crashing down into the wreckage of Sector Seven. When they did reach the front doors of the sky scraper, they were greeted with an almost pleasant surprise.

They saw that Cloud, Barret, and Tifa had been able to escape the destruction, but the three were filthy. A short explanation of how they climbed the wreckage later, the two groups started to formulate a plan. It did not take very long for the plan to form. The group had decided that Cloud, Snow, Barret, and Gadot would charge the front doors while the others would take the stairs.

After returning to the Shinra building, Claire had gone back to her room to relax from all that had happened to her in a short time. As she lay on her bunk letting her muscles un-knot themselves, she wondered why Serah still had not called her. The pinkette was starting to think that Director Trepe had actually forgotten to contact Serah. Just as the SOLDIER First was drifting into some much wanted sleep, her phone rang. She quickly grabbed it and flipped it open.

"Lightning Farron?" Tseng's voice grated her ears.

"What?" Claire responded, with zero kindness.

"Please come to my office, I need to speak with you."

Claire flipped her phone closed and with a huff, pulled herself out of her bed. On her way out of her room, she grabbed Blaze Edge's case and attached it to her SOLDIER belt. As she resentfully traveled to the Turk's office, she idly thought about what he wanted to see her about. It didn't take very long for her to reach his office and when she did, she entered without knocking.

"Lightning, always a pleasure," Tseng said sarcastically, surprising Claire.

"What do you want, Turk?" Claire shot back.

"The alarms on the lower levels have sounded. It seems we are under attack."

"By who?"

"Avalanche."

"They survived the fall of Sector Seven?" Claire could barely believe what she just heard.

"Yes, now if you would gather some troops and meet them on the fifty-ninth floor, it would be appreciated."

"One question, why didn't Director Trepe tell me about this?"

"She is currently away evaluating some of your fellow operatives in the field. Now go, before Avalanche makes it to Hojo's lab."

Claire did as she was told and left to gather some of her fellow operatives. After gathering a squad of Second Class troops, they headed up to the fifty-ninth floor. They set up in front of the elevator doors and waited for Avalanche. On the floor below them, the Turks had grouped together to wait for the part of Avalanche that had taken the stairs.

"Just so you are all aware, Serah is still undercover with Avalanche and she will be coming through that door with them. One wrong move, one slip of the tongue," Tseng eyed Reno as he said that "And they will kill Serah."

After Tseng finished speaking, he reached into his coat and pulled out his pistol, with which he was a marksman. Elena also drew her pistol from its holster on her thigh. Rude fell into his fighting stance, Reno flicked out his baton, and Cissnei pulled her large shuriken off her back and also fell into a battle stance. They were ready for and expecting a fight but something completely unexpected happened, the door to the very long stairwell flew off its hinges straight at them, making the Turks scatter. Only Tseng did not dive away from the door, he turned just enough to be out of the way and kept his gun trained on the doorway.

However, he had not been aware of the woman with long dark hair that had been right behind the door, who had shoulder checked the door off it's hinges. Just as a blue haired man and a dark haired woman appeared in the doorway, both wielding assault rifles, Tseng took aim for a wounding shot but had his gun kicked out of his hands.

As the handgun bounced across the floor, the dark haired Turk threw a punch at the long haired woman, who easily dodged it by moving to the side. The blue haired man and other dark haired woman started firing at the other Turks, who had retreated behind a group of pillars. A few seconds later, Maqui and Serah were able to push through the door and Serah was stunned at seeing who they had to fight. One floor above them, things were in Shinra's favor.

The group lead by Cloud waited for the elevator doors to open with their weapons ready. The steel box slowed down before coming to a stop and a light ding sounded before the doors started to open. As they slid sideways, Cloud, Snow, Barret, and Gadot, caught sight of eighteen SOLDIER second class members with their weapons ready. In front of the group of SOLDIERs was one operative in a black uniform, and who had pink hair. She had her sword ready and three materia, two fire and a lightning, charged and ready to use in at a moments notice.

Cloud looked up and down the line of super soldiers waiting to kill him and the other three of the group, then glanced at the other three men in elevator. With a small shake of his head, he dropped the Buster Sword and held up his hands in defeat, the other three shortly following suit.

"Good choice," Claire said with a hint of arrogance "Grab them and take them to the higher level elevators."

As the four rebel men were lead to the glass cylinder elevators, they had their hands cuffed behind their backs and three of them grumbled and shouted at the SOLDIER members. Calling each and every one of them every foul word and name they could imagine. When Cloud looked, he saw an amused look on the pink haired operative's face. She had also taken the Buster Sword and was resting it on her shoulder as she followed the group. The group of rebels was escorted to the presidents office and Claire felt the gaze of the blond on her back the entire trip. He was very familiar to her but no matter how hard she tried, no memory of him would come forward.

The group of men were lined up in front of the presidents desk and the large blond business man calmly looked them over. Claire calmly marched to the left side of his desk and a moment later heard several sets of feet coming up the stairs. She first spotted Tseng, who looked like he had been through one hell of a fight, then some more cuffed people behind him. Two men, one with sandy-blond hair, no more than a teenager, one with blue hair and expensive looking clothes, a woman with long dark hair and a white tank top, then another woman with dark hair. The last cuffed person made Claire freeze, and the end of the line, just in front of two other Turks, was Serah. Several emotions smashed into the front of Claire's mind upon seeing her sister, happiness, relief, anger, sadness, and murderous intent. Before her emotions could go any further, Claire forced them just far enough back that they would not affect her expression.

After noticing that every one of the prisoners, other than Serah, was looking between her and Serah, Claire crossed her arms under her bust and just sent each of them a glare. She made sure to linger on Serah for just one extra moment.

On the other hand, Serah was dumbfounded at seeing her sister. More than anything she wanted to run up to Claire, wrap her arms around the soldier, and tell her how much she had been missed. Soon after Serah realized three things, the first being that she had never received the news about Claire waking up because her actual phone had been in her apartment, the second was Tseng had obviously not informed Claire, and the third was the most surprising. Claire was on her feet. The doctors had told Serah many times that Claire spine had been severed and she would never walk again. The younger Farron was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the glare Claire had sent her.

Claire stood very still and tried to not focus her glare on Serah. Many thoughts were racing through her head as the president made a speech about something or another to the prisoners. The pink haired operative could not believe that Serah was one of the rebels.

"There has to be a reason for it," she repeated over and over in her mind.

_She betray you. There is no redemption for that. _The male and female voices said in unison.

"She wouldn't willingly act against Shinra, knowing that I work for them."

_That's why she is against them. She hates you._

"But Sephiroth saved us. He made our lives better. Shinra made our lives better."

_She hates all of you for sending her away._

"We didn't send her away. She was sent to school to have a better life..."

_She is an agent for Cocoon. She sold everything she knows about Shinra to The Sanctum. She wants you to be captured and tortured by The Sanctum. You can see it in her eyes. She is just acting innocent and misguided... She is the true leader of AVALANCHE._

Those words from the voices just further fanned the flames of Claire's anger at Serah. She felt her lip just starting to twist into a snarl when the president called for her.

"Operative Lightning, Director Tseng, please take these criminals to Hojo's cells."

As ordered, they escorted the members of AVALANCHE down to Hojo's lab. The holding cells behind it to be specific. The group was split into pairs and guided into cells and Claire handed off the Buster Sword for it to be taken to be secured with the other weapons. Before Serah could be pushed inside a cell already containing a brown hair woman with a pink dress, Claire grabbed her arm and took her to a different cell. She closed the door and made sure the sound proofing was working before turning to Serah.

"Claire, I'm so happy to see you!" Serah was squealing with happiness and tears ran down her face as she moved to embrace her sister but was stopped by Claire's very hostile look.

"Why are you with AVALANCHE?" Claire growled at her younger sister.

"Claire I-"

"Did you just happen to forget that Sephiroth and I worked for Shinra?" Claire shouted, the amount of fury in her voice surprised her.

"Sephiroth's dead and you were in a coma for four years..." Serah said quietly as more tears rolled down her face but for a very different reason.

"So that gives you the right to up and join people that would have killed me in the hospital?" Claire took a step forward and Serah cowered back, almost falling onto the bed. She felt her hand tense and the voices spoke.

_Do it..._

"Claire, please lis-"

"It's Lightning to you!" Claire felt her control over her anger slipping.

_Do it._

"Claire!" Serah begged between sobs "Please listen!"

"No!" Claire shouted back "You listen! After everything that Sephiroth did for us, this is how you honor his memory!"

"Shut up and listen to me!" Serah shouted instantly enraged at Claire's words.

_Do it! _The voices shouted at Claire and she obeyed. Her hand flew up from her side and an instant later, Serah spun around and toppled onto the bed. For a brief moment Claire was confused but the tingling in her hand informed her she had just smacked Serah. She was surprised that the small girl had not been lifted off her feet by her enhanced strength.

"You betray me and the one man that cared for us. As far as I'm concerned, you never came out of Sector Six," with that, Claire turned and left the younger Farron alone in the cell.

On her way back to the elevators, she passed by Tseng who gave her a brief look over without missing a step or slowing. When they were near each other, Claire spoke quietly.

"How long did you know about Serah?" she demanded more than asked.

"Who's Serah?" Tseng replied with a confused look and continued on his way. Claire's instincts told her he was lying but that was part of a Turks job.

Upon arriving on the SOLDIER floor of the Shinra building, an unlucky Third class operative happened to be standing in front of the elevator doors and without a second thought, and very little effort, Claire knocked him out with one punch. She made her way to her room, every other SOLDIER member wisely stepped out of her way, and after closing the door Claire punched the wall, nearly fracturing the steel. Basically throwing herself onto her bed, she lay there face down for several minutes and the voices returned.

_Claire, don't be sad, we will always be with you and will never leave you._

"Who are you?" Claire growled into her pillow. She heard the voices laugh softly before replying.

_Your new family._

The pink haired SOLDIER looked up from her pillow for a moment and the first thing she saw was a picture of Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, Serah, and herself. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed the frame, opened it to get the photo, and tore off the side with Genesis and Serah on it. After balling up and throwing the piece into the trash, she replaced the remaining part in the frame and set it back down on her bedside table. A ghost of a smile passed over her face and she huffed in amusement before laying back down and quickly falling asleep.

That night Claire was plagued by a series of strange dreams. The first was about her being trapped but breaking free with ease. Next was a few similar dreams, all were about her being attacked but not person that attacked her lasted more than a second or two and did not even come close to hurting her. The last dream was about her marching up to a massive desk with a large blond man sitting at it. She walked around it and impaled him from behind, then she smashed the window and jumped out.

A blaring alarm and her phone ringing ripped Claire from her slumber and with a growl she answered her phone. Before she could say anything, a female voice was shouting at her.

"Avalanche is escaping! Hurry up and get to the lobby!" Instantly closing her phone and dumping it in her pocket, Claire followed Director Trepe's orders.

The elevator ride to the lobby was incredibly boring but when the door opened, Claire was more than surprised. She spotted two wrecked robots, the Hundred Gunner and Heli-Gunner, which were supposed to be anti-SOLDIER machines. She heard an engine roar to life over the alarm, looked up the stairs and spotted the blond haired man, who once again had the Buster Sword, riding an old model of motorcycle. Shots flew close to her and Claire quickly stepped behind the wrecked Hundred Gunner, carefully looking out. The motorcycle rider drove through the front doors, demolishing them, and a teal pickup truck, the one that had been on display, followed the motorcycle. Claire spotted two women in the cab, Barret in the back with a strange looking creature she had never seen before.

She followed them out and watched them speed off with another pickup truck on the highway. Several other motorcycle engines alerted Claire and she turned to see a group of Shinra men chasing the escaped prisoners. Claire jumped, turned, and landed on a speeding sports bike, knocking the driver off onto the pavement. Throwing the bike to full throttle, she sped down the highway, weaving through traffic and following the wreckage to a section that was under construction. The wind howled in her ears and when she finally caught up to the three fleeing vehicles, shots started to impact around her, tearing the concrete apart. Claire maneuvered close to the blond on the bike but quickly had to doge a swing from the Buster Sword. After moving closer to the blond, that being the only place she was not being shot at, she engaged in one the strangest fights she had ever been in.

After a few minutes of high speed, intense sword fighting, on motorcycles, a very loud engine and grinding noise got everyone's attention. Claire looked back and saw another one of Scarlet's anti-SOLDIER robots, the Motor Ball. Seeing as how it took up all the lanes of the highway, Claire slowed down and jumped off her bike just before it was crushed by the massive machine. She jumped off the back of the robot further slowing her down and landed safely on the highway. A slight smirk crawled onto her face because she knew they were no match for that machine. The pink haired operative started her long walk back to the Shinra building and after about twenty minutes heard her phone ring.

"Lightning Farron," Claire stated after flipping open her phone.

"What is your current location?" She heard Tseng ask.

"The highway that's being built. Not sure exactly," As much as Claire despised the Turks, there was obviously a reason for Tseng to call her.

What Claire assumed to be an hour later, she heard a helicopter rotor approaching. The helicopter landed on the highway, a fair distance from Claire and the door slid open a moment later. She spotted Tseng as he stepped out of the helicopter, and sitting inside was a young blond man in a white suit. Claire hurried to the helicopter and climbed in. Once she was seated, she spotted a bundle of clothes and was about to ask who the suited man was but never got to say anything.

"This is Rufus Shinra, the new president of the company," Tseng told her.

"New president?" Claire was more than confused.

"My father was killed earlier tonight. By Avalanche," Rufus stated calmly, fully knowing that Sephiroth had killed his father but felt that this particular SOLDIER did not need to know that fact.

"You seem upset," Claire calmly replied. Rufus just huffed and handed her a folder with a small stack of paper in it "What's this?" she asked as she flipped it open and started scanning the pages, most of technical jargon that was outside her knowledge.

"Twenty five years ago, a few years after Jenova Project S was deemed a success, Hollander sold a copy of all the reports and several Jenova cell samples to Cocoon," Tseng answered.

"And you just figured this out?" Claire retorted with a hidden mischievous smirk.

"It's not easy to get our spies into Cocoon. Anyways, you have to retrieve Cocoon's Jenova project."

"I thought kidnappings were the Turks specialty."

"You were out of commission for four years and Cocoon knows all of our current Turks," Rufus answered that time "We have forged documents that will name you as a sergeant of Cocoon's Guardian Corps and that," Rufus motioned to the bundle of clothes "Is the uniform. Now get changed."

Claire quickly started to get changed. She had no issue with changing in front of Tseng and the president but they had the decency to turn towards the window. The uniform she had to change into was a brown turtleneck vest that showed off her midriff, a brown short skirt (Claire was happy to have her SOLDIER gym shorts to wear under the skirt), brown knee high boots with an armor plate over the shin, a white jacket, and a red half cape. She improvised to attach her sheath for Blaze Edge to the skirt and let the two men know she was finished.

"So once I locate the target, how do I get out?" Claire asked as she buckled up the coat.

"We have paid a local pilot to fly you close to our border," Tseng replied "His name is Sazh Katzroy and he will wait until seven PM."

"Who is the target?" Rufus handed Claire a picture of man with silver hair and bright green eyes.

"His name is Hope Estheim. He is home visiting his parents in Palumpolum and it is likely he has the same abilities as Sephiroth," Tseng answered.

"So are you also going there, president Shinra?" Claire asked her boss.

"I convinced Primarch Dysley to allow a meeting between us. In Palumpolum," As Rufus went on to explain minor details that did not have an effect on her mission, Claire zoned out and started to think about strategies for her mission. She barely even noticed that an hour slipped by or that the helicopter had landed on the outskirts of Palumpolum.

"Lightning!" Tseng said loudly "You have to get in, locate Estheim, and get out. Your identity will only be effective for one day before Cocoon realizes they have been infiltrated," Claire gave one curt nod to acknowledge what Tseng said.

"Also, if things go south," Rufus started to get her attention "Do not come to Shinra for help. I am here for diplomacy, so I can't have word of a SOLDIER in Cocoon getting out because it will start a war. Understand?"

"Find Estheim, get out of Cocoon, don't contact Shinra. Understood, sir," Claire stated.

With a nod, Rufus motioned for Claire to leave the helicopter and slammed the door behind her. The helicopter lifted off and continued towards Palumpolum. Claire waited a few minutes and then set off in the same direction. It was not the first time she was on a mission where she would get no assistance from Shinra but it did not explain the ominous feeling she had in her gut.

**Well... There it is. Why do I always feel like the chapter is sub-par? Please tell me if something needs to be fixed. I know it's not as long as the last chapter but since the story has now split into Lightning and Serah the next chapter should be like, double the length.**

**Please leave a review to make me feel happy.**


	19. Chapter 19

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! To kick off what I hope will be a great year, here is a new chapter. It's a bit shorter than the previous chapter but you'll just have to deal with that. So without further delay, enjoy the new chapter.**

Claire casually walked through the streets of Palumpolum, trying to look like she belong in the city. It was difficult for her to not look around in wonder at the Cocoon city, compared to Midgar it was a stunningly beautiful city. The clean streets, the light colored buildings, the bright colored clothing of the people, both civilian and military, and the clean ocean air. Claire silently admitted to herself that the air was her favorite part of Palumpolum, she loved the salty smell of the ocean, the slight breeze weaving through the buildings, and how it gently played with her hair. The last reason would be a secret Claire would take to her grave.

Even though the dossier on Hope Estheim listed the exact location of his parent's house, Claire did not have the slightest clue of how to find the residence. She basically blindly wandered the streets just examining the shop windows, the people, and the laid back nature of the Guardian Corps. Seeing no alternative, Claire approached the helmeted soldiers, unimpressed by the fact that one of them was spinning his sidearm on his finger. The both started laughing when she asked about Hope's address.

"What is so amusing?" Claire managed to not growl, trying to fit in.

"You're on the wrong side of the city, sergeant," The soldier on the left answered.

"Well how do I get there?"

The soldier on the right explained a simple route through the public transportation. With a polite farewell, Claire found the nearest bus stop and started the hour long trip across Palumpolum.

**Palumpolum City Hall**

"I'm glad we have reached an agreement, President Shinra," The Primarch of Cocoon, Galenth Dysley, said with a small nod.

"As am I, Primarch Dysley," Rufus replied with a light nod, his vision flicking to Dysley's guard for the thousandth time over the last three hours.

Dysley's guard was vastly different from Tseng, who stood silently to the left of Rufus' chair. The soldier was a large man and had a staff held firmly in his right hand, decorated shoulder plates, and an elegant cape. Tseng was sure this soldier was a member of the Sanctum Templars, the personal guard of the highest officials of Cocoon. If the information was correct, the Templar standing less than ten feet away from the Turk Director could take on all of the Turks and win.

"Before I take my leave though," Rufus started as he stood up "I have some information I would be willing to trade for some of that PSICOM tech," Rufus slid a folder out of his long white trench coat and dropped it on the table, it had 'SOLDIER Unit #5973' printed across the tab.

"SOLDIER? What would I want with that information?" Dysley asked with an almost unnoticeable chuckle.

"There is a rogue operative here in Palumpolum," Rufus stated and Dysley replied with a simple nod "I'm sure you know what the firsts are capable of," Rufus and Tseng saw the minor flash of horror in Dysleys eyes.

"What is it you want?" Dysley was obviously not happy about Rufus' bargaining chip, which was Palumpolum itself.

"Airship and robot schematics. No more, no less."

"Very well," Rufus smiled at Dysley's reply and flipped the folder open. Tseng couldn't believe what he saw, but at the same time he knew he should have expected it.

A picture of Claire was the first thing that could be seen on the small stack of paper. Rufus started to go through the papers with Dysley but Tseng did not hear a word of what they were saying, he was already formulating a plan to alert and rescue Claire. Not to mention trying to figure out why Rufus had sold out the last First Class SOLDIER. The dark haired Turk kept his mouth shut and his face emotionless until he and Rufus were back in the helicopter.

"Sir, if I may," Tseng started politely "Why did you just alert Cocoon to Lightning's presence?"

"Because I hate SOLDIER and everything related to _Jenova,_" Rufus spat Jenova's name as if it were a curse-word.

"You're even going to have Hope killed, sir?"

"Yes, as well as whatever is left of the SOLDIER force when we get back to Midgar," a moment of silence passed as Tseng sat stunned "Which reminds me, you are going to eliminate Director Trepe."

"What?" Tseng felt his voice come out a bit louder than it was supposed to.

"You really think I can leave the SOLDIER director alive after this with all she knows?" Rufus asked offhandedly.

"But-"

"No buts, Tseng. You are going to walk into her office and put a bullet in her head," Tseng watched Rufus' impartial expression transform into a dark glare that held a promise of some miserable fate for Tseng if he didn't listen closely as the President pulled his small shotgun out of his trench coat and point it at Tseng's face "You try to pull the same shit you did with Zack, and I will send Elana back to her sister in several small packages and notify AVALANCHE about Serah."

Tseng was horrified and replied with a shaky voice "You know about Zack and Elana?"

"You really think the Turks are Shinra's only spies?" Rufus asked with an amused smile then a laugh.

Now Tseng knew he had to come up with a very good plan to rescue Trepe and secure Elana's safety. He knew Claire would be okay until the other two were safe. She was Sephiroth's student after all.

**Palumpolum, Felix Heights**

Claire looked at the door to the house and went over her planned speech for the hundredth time before stepping forward and pushing the button to ring the bell. Seconds ticked by and with each passing moment, Claire got more and more impatient. Even though Shinra had said her identity would hold for the day, she felt like if she just stood around, they would detect her faster. When the door finally slid open, it revealed a middle aged woman with platinum-blond hair, a long light green vest with a brown sash to tie it closed, and green eyes with the most kindness Claire had ever seen in them. Claire made sure to keep eye-contact with the woman.

"Can I help you, officer?" the woman asked with a friendly smile.

"Yes, ma'am. Is Hope home?" Claire responded with her official tone, the same one she used when talking to the Shinra executives.

"One moment," the woman turned back to the house before calling out "Hope! There is a pretty young lady at the door for you!" Claire could hear the chuckle in the woman's voice but it didn't stop her from almost blushing. It was the first time she had heard someone describe her like that.

Soon after, Claire heard someone walking up to the door and almost jumped out of her skin when she actually saw her target, Hope. He was a bit shorter than Sephiroth, had vastly shorter hair, the same build, same pale skin, and even though he was at least four years younger, he looked identical to Sephiroth, with the exception of the eyes. They were the same bright green but with round pupils, and something Sephiroth's never had, a spark. Claire had seen the same spark in many people here in Palumpolum, the spark no one under Shinra had, the spark of life and happiness.

At that exact moment, Claire had the thought of the possibility that Shinra truly was the enemy in everything. Maybe she was the bad guy in her missions, maybe AVALANCHE is right about Shinra's reactors, maybe Genesis and Angeal were right about leaving Shinra. And the instant Genesis' name rolled through her mind, she knew those thoughts were crazy and brought herself back to reality.

"Yes?" Hope asked to get Claire's attention.

"I'm sergeant Farron and I would like to ask you a few questions back at HQ."

"What? Why? About what?" Hope's mother, Claire assumed, asked sounding very worried. Hope just looked confused.

"Don't worry, ma'am. He just may know some information about the victim of a murder that happened in Academia a few days ago."

"Murder?" Hope's mother asked with a raised eyebrow and a suspicious tone.

"It's okay mom, I'll just go answer their questions and be back before dinner," Hope reassured his mother with a very charming smile.

"Fine, straight there, straight back. Don't go charming this one on the way," Hope's mother said with a cheerful smile as Hope put on his black boots and laughed in response.

As they were making their way towards the rendezvous point, where the pilot Sazh Katzroy was waiting, Hope's mother's remark kept passing through Claire's mind. So giving into her curiosity, Claire opened her mouth.

"Don't go charming this one on the way?"

"So you did hear that," Hope said with a slightly embarrassed tone "Last year I kind of vandalized a statue at AU and talked my way down to a fine and not getting a record started."

"Impressive," Claire stated with no emotion. It surprised her how different Hope was from Sephiroth.

When the duo arrived at the landing pad where the extraction pilot was waiting, Hope started to feel just a hint of suspicion that the pink haired sergeant was not actually part of the Guardian Corps. The ice cold steel gaze of hers was the trait that told him she was not even from Cocoon and most likely someone from Shinra. After hearing many stories about Shinra, Hope knew it would be better for him and his parents to just do what he was told. So he kept his mouth shut and obeyed the pink haired woman with a smile.

The dark skinned pilot and Claire shared a monotone greeting and the three of them climbed into the airship. A few minutes later, the Cocoon shuttle was soaring towards the Cocoon/Shinra border and not one word had been shared between the three. The control panel started to beep and the radio crackled to life.

"Civilian shuttle, by order of lieutenant colonel Rasch, land immediately," A stern voice commanded.

"Rasch?" The pilot asked no one "What does PSICOM want?" The control panel started to beep rapidly "Why are you targeting us?"

"You are ordered to land immediately. This is your last warning," The stern voice commanded again. But before the dark skinned pilot could comply, Claire spoke up.

"Speed up, take evasive action. They'd kill us when we land anyways."

"What! Why?" The pilot shouted.

"Because they're after me, Katzroy."

"Knew I shouldn't have taken this job..." Sazh said under his breath as he followed Claire's orders.

The moment he started to move the shuttle, a missile flew by them and Sazh took Claire's orders a bit more seriously. Through a visual check as the shuttle was pulled into a loop, the passengers saw that there was five PSICOM fighters pursuing them. Sazh pulled the shuttle out of it's loop while it was still upside down and took it into a another half loop to get up into the clouds. The fighters were on their tail in seconds.

Sazh pushed the shuttle down towards the canyon they had been flying over. The shuttle angled into the canyon and began to weave through the stone spires dotted throughout the massive crevice. Claire could just hear, above the engines, the sound of the spires being shredded by bullets fired by the fighters. A missile obliterated a spire just in front of them, rocks sent cascading over the shuttle, rattling and pounding the canopy.

"We're gonna die in here!" Hope shouted, obviously terrified.

"Keep us low! We're easy targets higher up!" Claire shouted to keep Sazh on the right course.

The dark skinned pilot obeyed the order and kept the shuttle's belly close to the ground. More spires were getting blasted to pieces, making the shuttle rattle. As the shuttle and five fighters raced through the canyon, the spires started to thin out, which was not something the passengers of the shuttle wanted to see. One missile hit a spire much closer to the shuttle than the others, the explosion managed to violently tear off most of the canopy and make the civilian airship bounce off the canyon floor.

The lead PSICOM fighter raced ahead of the shuttle, so far ahead that it was able to turn around and start heading straight at the shuttle. When it was within range, it opened fire with it's Gatling gun. The bullets easily ripped through the front of the canopy, the control panel, the seats on the left side, and nearly sheared off the left wing. Sazh started to panic when the shuttle began rising out of the canyon on its own and the PSICOM fighter easily maneuvered behind them to rejoin its wing mates.

"What's going on?" Claire shouted, furious, to be heard over the wind.

"I have no control!" Sazh shouted back "In case you haven't noticed, the controls were chewed up!"

What was left of the control panel started to beep, signaling a missile was locked on to them. Claire and Hope looked at each other, for a reason unknown to both of them while Sazh stared wide eyed at the sky in front of them. One word slipped through his lips, just above a whisper.

"Dajh..."

A moment later, a missile took flight from a fighter's wing and drove itself into the tail of the shuttle. The deafening explosion destroyed the back end and engine of the shuttle, making it arch and start diving back into the canyon. A stone spire intercepted the shuttle, turning it into a ball of flame which rolled to a stop in the canyon. The five fighters circled the area for a minute and the squad leader performed two passes, spraying the area with large caliber bullets. The squad reformed into a V and started their trip back to the Palumpolum PSICOM base.

**Kalm**

Serah stood just outside the ancient stone wall surrounding the small town, looking into the distance, towards Midgar. She thought about what happened when she saw Claire, how Claire went berserk on her, didn't give her a chance to speak, and ultimately broke the oldest promise between them by hitting her. The pink haired Turk felt tears run down her cheeks for two reasons. Even though Claire acted completely different from when they were younger, Claire was awake and somehow able to walk, and how much different the situation could be if Claire had just given her a chance to speak.

The younger Farron sank to her knees and sat on her heels as she tried to stop the tears. For a distraction, she started to run her finger through the dry dirt, drawing random shapes and symbols. The tears stopped several minutes later and Serah slowly got to her feet and spun on her heel, instantly spotting Snow leaning against the town gate.

"How long have you been standing there?" Serah asked with an embarrassed voice.

"A few minutes. I called you a couple of times but it was like you were hypnotized," Snow had a slight smirk and a barely noticeable chuckle "Anyways, Cloud wanted to talk to us at the inn."

"Shouldn't keep them waiting then, eh?" Serah replied with a fake smile, that must have been convincing because Snow just smiled back and motioned for her to take the lead.

They went up the stairs in the inn and saw that everyone was there, waiting for them. Gadot, Yuj, Lebreau, and Maqui were on the left side of the room while Barret, Aerith, Tifa, and the wolf like beast they rescued from Hojo's lab, which called itself Red Thirteen, were on the other side with Cloud standing near the stairs, between the groups.

"Guess everyone's here now," Aerith announced with her cherry tone.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting..." Serah said shyly before joing NORA on the left side of the room.

"So let's hear that story. You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the planet," Barret said to Cloud, Serah instantly paying full attention and trying to not appear too interested "Let's hear it all."

"I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER," Cloud began after a moment of silence "After working with Sephiorth on several missions, we became friends," it took an unbelievable amount of effort for Serah to not shout at Cloud for lying. She knew Sephiroth only ever saw Angeal and Genesis as friends, Zack as a war buddy, and Claire (and herself) as a daughter.

"You call that a friend?" Barret asked before Serah's thoughts could take control of her.

"Yeah, well... He's older than me and he hardly ever talked about himself," Serah knew what Cloud just said was true "So I guess you'd call him a war buddy... We trusted each other. Until one day..."

"One day?" Serah asked, hoping to goad Cloud into continuing his story. He turned his back before continuing.

"After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the Shinra," Cloud took a long pause "... That was five years ago. I was sixteen."

And Cloud started to recount what he remembered about the Nibelheim incident.

**Please leave a review.**


	20. Chapter 20

She knew he was wrong. There simply too many holes in his story and the simple fact the Claire and Zack had not been mentioned at all. When the story was finished, and everyone went to explore Kalm, she decided to talk to the only other witness of the Nibelheim incident. The woman was found outside the town looking at the city of Midgar just peeking over a distant hill.

"Tifa, I need to talk to you."

"Oh, Serah. What about?" Tifa said with an obviously halfhearted smile.

At that moment, Serah realized she couldn't talk to anyone about how wrong Cloud's story was. If she confronted Tifa about it, it would be revealed Serah was not who she said she was. The Nibelheim incident was classified top secret to everyone that knew about it, with the obvious exception of the survivors. But now that Serah had started she knew she had to continue but think of a way to disguise her intent.

"Cloud's story," Tifa gave her a confused look "Parts of it sounded a little... Odd," Tifa's look of confusion persisted "Like he was forgetting something or those holes in the story. Didn't those sound odd to you?"

Tifa nodded slowly and turned back to face Midgar. She knew exactly what Serah was talking about as Cloud did not mention the pink or black haired SOLDIERs. Not to mention the simple fact that she only saw Cloud in the reactor, but he was wearing a Shinra Infantry uniform.

"He was telling the truth," Tifa stated.

"You're sure?"

"I was there, Serah," Tifa nearly shouted even though she did not mean to. She reigned in her emotions before continuing "Why would we lie about the destruction of our home?" Serah nodded at Tifa's words and walked away. The brawler was not entirely sure why she had covered up the errors in Cloud's story but she was sure there was a reasonable explanation and she was going to get it out of Cloud.

As Tifa aimlessly wandered around the medieval looking town, something suddenly occurred to her. She brought up a mental image of Serah and the pink haired SOLDIER from Nibelheim and Reactor Five, to start a comparison. At that moment, Tifa wanted to slap herself for being so stupid, not to mention slap everyone else for being so blind. Serah was related to the pink haired SOLDIER member, for all they knew, Serah was a Shinra spy and feeding the tyrants information on them at that very moment. The dark haired martial artist started towards the Inn where they were all staying, but stopped dead after a few steps. Who would believe her? That question hung in Tifa's mind as she raced to think of something, any kind of solution. She decided to keep an eye on Serah, if she proved to be a spy or threat to their cause, Tifa would deal with her.

The next morning, the group assembled just outside of Kalm and were deciding on a plan of action. The best they came up with was to pursue Sephiroth but in order to do that, they had to swing by the fairly close by chocobo ranch so they would have transport across the Midgar Swamp. The beast they had rescued from Hojo's lab, said that they should split up and regroup near Junon as to avoid detection from Shinra. There had been some objections, but Red's strategy was sound. So they divided. One group was comprised of Serah, Snow, Yuj, and Lebreau. Another had Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Aerith. The last group was Gadot, Red, and Maqui.

Cloud's group left first, opting to clear the path as best they could. Six hours later, Snow's group was setting out and the blond brawler told his muscled friend to wait four or five hours before leaving Kalm and that they would clear out whatever the first group missed. Four and a half hours later, Gadot's group left Kalm.

* * *

The sound of crackling and snapping fire along with the succulent smell of well cooked meat pulled her out of her sleep. Slowly she opened her eyes and sat up but as soon as she was somewhat vertical, her head started to pound like someone was using her head to practice using a hammer. Ignoring the pain, she followed the sound and smell to several chunks of meat suspended above a fire on a makeshift spit. Behind it, on the opposite side of the fire from her, sat two people but it was too dark and the glare of the fire made it difficult for her to see what they looked like.

"Finally awake, are ya?" a heavily accented feminine voice asked. She ignored the sarcastic question and tried to stand.

Before she got too far, her head started to spin and the world suddenly lurched to one side, making her topple back down to the ground onto her stomach. Her pink hair fell across her face as she turned her head to avoid breaking her nose and her vision started to blur. She was just able to make out black hair and some kind of blue cloth before she was yanked back into the oblivion of unconsciousness.

The feeling of something hot on her stomach woke her up with a start but she regretted opening her eyes as the bright unrelenting sun blinded her. Claire slammed her eyes shut and moved to get up again, this time she succeeded, with out any sort of headache. As she climbed to her feet, she spotted where the fire had been but the two strangers were nowhere to be seen. A pair of groans from behind her got her attention and she saw Hope, her target, and Sazh, the pilot, laying on the ground just in front of a completely destroyed Cocoon shuttle. She clearly remembered the shuttle being shot out of the sky and hurtling to the ground like a meteor with a vengeance, but that's where the memory ended.

Claire studied the wreckage for a little while as Hope and Sazh got their bearings and asked the same questions about what happened and how they survived. Her analysis of the wreckage told Claire that there was no way anyone could have survived that crash. Anything short of divine intervention would not have been able to save them.

"I take it you're all better now," the accented female voice from earlier asked from behind Claire.

The three crash victims were met with the sight of two women, no older than mid-twenties, standing side by side. The taller one had tanned skin, messy black hair, a blue sari with a dark shirt underneath it, black cloth bracers, a large tattoo on her left arm, leather knee high sandals, and a double bladed red and black lance. The other woman was a redhead with a pink halter top, orange and yellow skirt, beige fur lined boots, a fur hanging from the back of her belt, three beaded necklaces, many bracelets on both arms, and long strings of beads wrapped around her. The duo reminded Claire of people from Cosmo Canyon but she still felt her hand find her weapon's hilt.

"Who are you?" Claire asked as neutrally as she could.

"Oerba Yun Fang," The woman in blue stated proudly.

"Oerba Dia Vanille," The redhead replied with a light bow.

"Okay then," Hope muttered as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Fang and Vanille work too," Fang said with a smirk "So who are you folks?"

"Hope Estheim."

"Sazh Katzroy."

"Sergeant Lightning Farron."

"If you don't mind me asking," Hope started after the introductions "Did you pull us out of the wreckage?"

"Nope," Fang answered "We were nearby and watched your airship hit the ground. Been takin' care of ya since yesterday."

"Did you see anything or anyone around here when you got here?"

"Didn't see anyone. A chocobo or two must have come by though," Vanille answered with a smile, Claire just gave her a curious expression and Vanille pulled a large white feather out of her satchel "Funny thing is, white chocobos are really rare around here."

"So what is your plan?" Fang asked the trio.

"That's a good question," Hope replied.

"Well, at least with how wrecked the shuttle is, PSICOM won't be looking for us for a long while," Sazh stated. Claire had to agree with him on that but she had no idea what to do now.

It would take days to figure out where they were, how far away the Cocoon/Shinra border was, and to reach it. Another fact she identified was, they could not go to any Cocoon port cities to travel back to Shinra territory, since they would be identified immediately upon boarding a transport. All things considered, they only had one possible route. Through the neutral area, the frozen wasteland of the northern continent. That plan of action, however, raised another issue. How would she get Hope to go with her?

"Now why would PSICOM be after such nice folks?" Fang said with a heavy sarcastic tone. Sazh and Hope looked to each other and shrugged before Claire spoke up.

"That is an excellent question," Hope pondered "We need to find a way to explain things to the Sanctum. To let them know that we are not criminals."

Claire found his words to be very strange but quickly deduced that he was most likely threatened by her. She also assumed that he thought that if he mentioned his suspicions of Claire to the others, she would kill them. Claire admitted to herself that that is what she would do, her mission was to get Hope to Shinra. The others were only needed to get her out of Cocoon. If it was needed, it would be very easy to eliminate the women and Sazh on the slopes of the northern mountains and make it look like an accident.

"We should head north," Claire commanded more than suggested.

"Why?" Sazh asked rather quickly.

"PSICOM shot us down without even trying to disable the shuttle. The Sanctum is not going to give us any mercy so we should head north so we can get into Shinra territory with minimal chance of detection."

"Now why should we go to Shinra?" Sazh asked, more than confused. Fang watched the exchange with an amused smile and Vanille just felt awkward.

"Shinra's attention is centered on Midgar, Junon, and the isolated Mako Reactors. It will be much easier to slip under their radar than the Sanctum's," Claire stated, technically betraying Shinra.

"And from there, we try to negotiate our way back into Cocoon," Hope added.

"Well if you're heading north, Oerba is a couple weeks in that direction," Fang commented "Sanctum pays us no mind as we're just a village of hunters and whatnot."

"Then that's our first stop," Claire agreed "And I assume I don't actually have to say this, but if the Sanctum catches you helping us, you'll be targets as well."

"And if I spend my life under a rock, it's not worth living," Fang laughed as she pulled her spear out of the ground and turned to leave, the redhead on her heels. As strange as her choice of words was, it made perfect sense to Claire.

**Several Days Later, Near Junon**

"So we're about to infiltrate Junon, Shinra's military base of a city?" Lebreau asked the large group.

"And stow away on a ship heading for Costa Del Sol?" Gadot added.

"Yes, any problems with that?" Barret threatened.

"Nope," Lebreau and Gadot said in unison, both lying and cowering from Barret.

"So how are we going to get into Junon?" Cloud asked the gun-armed man.

"Take out some soldiers, wear their uniforms?" Aerith suggested, which surprised everyone.

"That's a great idea," Tifa responded "Just a few issues though. Barret's arm, Red, and Cloud's sword."

"Oh, right," Aerith said with a light nod.

"We could wait here with Cloud's weapon and have a few of you smuggle us onto the ship," Red spoke up.

No one could think of a better plan So Cloud handed off the Buster Sword to Barret and the entire group, minus Red XIII and Barret, started towards Junon to obtain uniforms. They were hoping the plan would be go through unhitched but they were all unfortunately unaware of the parade about to start in upper Junon or that President Rufus was scheduled to cross to Costa del Sol on the ship they were planning on stowing away on.

**Meanwhile in Cocoon**

"Find anything?" a soldier in a white and black uniform with blue shoulders, long brown hair asked another soldier in the same outfit but with a helmet and large sword on his back.

"Just tracks. PSICOM has already been through here," the soldier with the sword replied, his voice slightly distorted by the full helmet.

"Any word on survivors of the crash?"

"Nothing so far, Officer Rygdea," as the soldier with the sword replied something caught his eye "Wait... Got some more tracks here... And they're definitely not PSICOM. They went north."

"Well we had better hurry, PSICOM is probably gonna be on their ass soon."

The two soldiers ran back to the small shuttle with a white and blue paint job with the word Cavalry painted in large letters on the side. It lifted off quickly and shot into the sky, on its way back to the mobile base of the Cavalry, the Lindblum.

**Sorry for how short this is and how long it took to appear. I had terrible writers block right after the meeting with Fang and Vanille and struggled to finish the chapter. Spent a week just staring at the blank space hoping for something to appear. I will try to not take as long with the next update.**

**Please leave a review.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Quick note, a lot of stuff in this chapter happens at the same time. I hope it's not confusing.**

The group of five ducked into a group of trees with thick undergrowth as the sound of powerful engines approached. Five pairs of eyes gazed into the sky as three small ships flew overhead, it was the third time the three airships had passed. It was an obvious sign that the odd collection of five were getting close to a PSICOM outpost. They were doing their best to stick to the trees to remain hidden, but the clearings between bundles of forest were getting bigger and closer together.

"We're running out of cover," Claire announced, stating the obvious to Fang "Is there-"

"Mountains a bit to the west, close to the Taejin area," Fang replied, cutting off Claire.

"But there is no trees for a few miles before the mountains," Vanille added.

"What's the plan, Sunshine?" Fang asked with a smile, Claire just growled at her.

Over the last few days, Fang had started calling Claire, Sunshine, and the reason was, as Fang said, Claire had a skill for lighting up a room. It started during their second day of traveling together, and things had been calm the entire time. Fang, Vanille, Hope, and Sazh had started making idle chat and found their way to joking about things as if they had been friends their entire lives. Claire all but shouted at them for not being on guard and acting like Cocoon's faction of elite military forces were not hunting them.

"So we can risk getting caught by moving forward or trying to be careful. Wonderful," Sazh commented.

"We should stick to the patches of trees. It will get us further faster and has a lower risk factor," Hope explained. Claire nodded in response and started moving as the patrol ships got further away.

They emerged from the patch of trees at a full sprint, in an attempt to make it to cover before the next patrol. The forest was easily an hour long walk away, possibly farther, and the next patrol was not for another two hours. Feet pounding, heart thundering, breathing with a steady pace, Claire easily kept pace with the others even though she knew she could double, possibly triple, their speed with little effort. Off in the distance, Claire spotted the three patrol ships from earlier split up, loop and roll over, reform, and start heading back towards them. The pink haired imposter looked up into the sky and saw a fourth ship, lazily gliding through the sky, and she quickly deduced that the higher ship was a spotter for the patrol ships. A unit specifically for identifying threats, or criminals, and sounding the alarm.

Claire slowed down and soon came to a stop, the others halting near her and expecting an explanation. She felt their questioning looks piercing into her and she realized then, she hated that more than anything.

"We've been spotted," Claire calmly spoke and pointed to the sky.

"Dammit." Sazh whispered.

"Sly devils," Fang chuckled when she spotted the spotter ship.

The three patrol ships flew close to them and very low. They landed softly near the group, their deafening whirring turbine engines shutting down and falling silent in seconds. Six PSICOM troops emerged from each ship and they grouped near the five. With eighteen automatic weapons directed at them, Claire and Fang remained still, simply because Fang knew Vanille could easily be hurt and Claire was unsure she could dodge that many bullets.

"Either go peacefully or in body bags," the officer of the squad said loudly to the group of five. But before any of Claire's group could react in any way, the officer's radio crackled to life.

"All patrols return to outpost six now! Red alert!" a voice from the outpost shouted hysterically "I repeat, red alert! All patrols-" The voice on the radio was cut off by a scream.

The PSICOM soldiers all looked to each other for a moment before turning and piling back into their ships. Within seconds, the turbine engines roared to life and the three airships were rocketing back to the outpost. Even the spotter was descending from its point in the sky. The fugitive group shared some glances before heading in the direction of the PSICOM outpost.

* * *

Cloud was still surprised. Their plan to get onto the boat was executed almost flawlessly. There was the one speed bump of Cloud being forced to join the parade but that did not stop them. Currently, most of both his group and NORA were disguised as infantry, the exceptions being Barret, Red XIII, and Maqui. Barret was dressed as one of the ship crew, as was Maqui, both because of their size and Barret's disguise hid his gun arm. Red, unfortunately, was hidden in the cargo hold in a large steel crate with the Buster Sword, Serah's Bow, Aerith's staff, and a light. All that was left was to enjoy the trip as much as they could and not draw any attention.

Night two of the trip across the sea is when everything awry. An alarm went off, and an intercom announced the presence of a suspicious character in the cargo hold. Both groups were worried they had found Red but every soldier and crew man that went to the lower decks, did not come back. That ominous sign prompted Rufus and Heidegger, who the ship was meant to transport, to board the Shinra helicopter on the ship and fly the rest of the trip. Humbers aboard the ship quickly dwindled to just the captain, helmsmen, NORA, and AVALANCHE. The rebel groups joined up on the top deck and, those who could, discarded their disguises.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Barret shouted at the groups.

"The crew is being murdered on the lower decks," Cloud responded, stating the blatantly obvious.

"We have to go and find Red," Aerith demanded.

"Agreed," Lebreau added.

"Alright, so who is going to lead us down?"

"I will," Barret stated as he started towards the stairs. Gadot, Snow, and Yuj were right on his heels armed with assault rifles with everyone else trailing behind them.

They found a few lone infantry men but they paid the rebel groups no mind. The infantry men were either mumbling something about blood, bodies, or the horror of it all. It horrified the groups to hear the fear induced insane rambling of broken minds as they continued further into the ship's depths. The crate with Red XIII and the weapons was closest to the stairs and the groups had yet to see any bodies or blood. Heavy steel doors creaked open as the strongest of the large group pulled the container open. Red sat calmly gazing at the group with his head tilted in a curious manner.

"What happened?" the beast asked stoically.

"Suspicious character on board," Cloud replied as he recovered the Buster Sword.

The entire group moved deeper into the cargo hold and stopped dead in their tracks. Dead infantry and ship crew littered the floor of the ship, all of them slashed, stabbed, and cut in into pieces. Blood covered every square inch of the once gray steel floor of the main aisle and was sprayed all over the containers lining the aisle. Everything about the horrifying scene indicated that they had been moving towards the engine room. Slowly the group entered the engine room and were met by an equally surprising sight. Just beyond another dozen bodies stood a tall figure, dressed in black, and with long silver hair, his gaze fixed on the floor.

Serah could not believe what she was seeing.

"After a long sleep," Sephiroth's deep smooth voice sounded, clearly heard over the engines "The time... has come..."

"Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted "You're alive!"

"Who're you?"

"You don't remember me? I'm Cloud!"

"Cloud?"

"Sephiroth! What are you doing? What are you thinking?"

"The time... is now..." Sephiroth's gaze moved off to his right, towards the north.

Serah watched the exchange with a massive pain pulsing in her chest. She wanted to talk to Sephiroth, ask him about Nibelheim, and why he had changed so drastically and become so violent.

"What? What are you saying? Be more-" Cloud was cut off by a bright flash. When the light dimmed, there was a towering monster in the place where Sephiroth had been standing.

The grotesque beast towered at least twenty feet high but it look rooted to the spot. It had two mismatching wing like appendages extending from its sides, a tentacle dangled from the appendage on the right side, large spines protruded from its back, and its head extended away from the body. Just from looking at the monster, Cloud knew it was somehow related to the headless creature in the Shinra building.

"What in the name of all that is good is that?" Snow whimpered.

"Where the fuck did it come from?" Barret shouted.

"No idea, but we have to kill it," Cloud announced just a blue laser was shot at them.

**Meanwhile...**

It had taken an hour, but they had reached the PSICOM outpost and were met by crushing silence. The front gate was heavily damaged from battle and from the apparent escape attempt of one heavily armored tank. After climbing through the front gate, the group looked around finding only signs of battle but no bodies yet. A small group of bodies was discovered near the barracks, all of them slashed or stabbed. As the five traveled further into the outpost, more bodies were discovered but when they found the main field in the middle of the outpost, a truly appalling sight greeted them.

Dozens of dismembered soldiers and their organs littered the field, soaking the ground in blood. Vanille gasped in horror and Fang hissed at the strong scent of death, but all five of the group froze at the next sight. In the center of the field stood Sephiroth, in a circle of clean ground about ten feet across, his bright green and emotionless gaze fixed on them. He watched them, unblinking, as they stepped over and around the bodies slowly making their way towards him, hands on their weapons.

Claire was dumbfounded, to say the least. But there was something off about Sephiroth. His face was different from what she remembered. He was fairly more pale than before, his lips were barely more thin than before, his nose was simply impossible as it was attractive. Sephiroth looked like a being that couldn't possibly exist because his face looked perfect.

"After a long sleep," Sephiroth calmly said, confusing the group "The time... has come..."

"Sephiroth," Claire said, just above a whisper "What happened? Why are you here?" Sephiroth's gaze locked onto Claire but no emotion passed over his face.

"You've grown."

"What happened?" Claire asked louder, a hint of anger finding its way into her tone.

"Nibelheim," Sephiroth answered in a cryptc tone. The word stirred emotions deep within Claire and she felt gears in her head turning, trying to recall why that was an important word "The time... is now..." Sephiroth's gaze moved off to his left, towards the north.

A near blinding flash occurred leaving dark spots in the five's vision for many seconds. When the light dimmed, there was a towering monster in the place where Sephiroth had been standing. The grotesque beast towered at least twenty feet high but it look rooted to the spot. It had two mismatching wing like appendages extending from its sides, a tentacle dangled from the appendage on the right side, large spines protruded from its back, and its head extended away from the body. Just from looking at the monster, Claire knew they had to kill it.

* * *

The fight had been long and surprisingly easy for the group. Serah wrote of the ease of the battle to how many people had been fighting and how they had been attacking both sides of the monster. But that is not what Serah considered the important part. Sephiroth had been standing less than twenty feet away from her and did not even look at her, much less recognize her. He wasn't even aware of who Cloud was, but that did not matter to Serah. She was still reeling about hearing, reading, and watching, many pieces of evidence to prove that Sephiroth was dead, yet he had been in front of them, spoke to them, then turned into a towering monster. The young pink haired Turk just wanted to know what was going on.

Once the ship was docked at Costa del Sol, the group raced off of it. The sun shone brightly in the sky and the heat was intense but pleasant because of the wind from the ocean. Serah immediately started to see similarities between Costa del Sol and Bodhum. The smiling people walking around in swim suits, with cold drinks or snacks, bright colors of the town, stalls selling all manner of trinkets and beach equipment. The biggest difference that could be seen was Costa del Sol was purely a tourist town while Bodhum was an actual city.

"It's so pretty!" Aerith cheerfully exclaimed when they cleared the docks and entered the actual town. A few members of the groups were surprised that she could sound so happy and innocent after the atrocity that happened on the ship.

"We'll stop here for a day or two," Cloud told the group.

"What?" Barret yelled "Shinra is going to be on our asses after what happened on the boat!"

"Gee, why don't ya say it louder, I don't think Eden heard you that well," Yuj joked, earning him a glare from the large dark skinned man.

"Look, the easily identifiable people in our group will lay low and discuss what we're going to do next," Cloud said as he stepped between Barret and the others "We need to figure out where to go and what to do anyways."

"Now who is easily identifiable?" Snow asked, crossing his arms and slightly hoping he was not.

"Well, Me, Barret, Red, Gadot, and Yuj," Cloud replied with a light shrug.

"So we get to hide in a hotel while everyone else gets to enjoy the beach?" Gadot complained.

"Alright! Let's get some suits and hit the beach!" Lebreau cheered as she wrapped her arms around Serah's and Aerith's shoulders, pulling them away.

"Be safe," Cloud spoke in a soft tone to Tifa.

"You too," Tifa said back with a smile as the others started to wander off into the city.

The four women rented a room at one of the cheaper motels near the beach, the men minus Cloud, Barret, Yuj, Gadot, and Red, did the same but got a couple of rooms. When they assembled on the beach, the four women decided to break away from the main group and have some girl time. Other than Serah, they made some idle chatter about the town and other beach goers. Minute by minute, Serah felt the visions of the butchering on the Shinra ship eating away at her until she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"How can you three be so cheerful after what happened on the boat?" Serah said much louder than she meant to, but didn't get the attention of any of the other beach patrons.

"Nibelheim was worse," Tifa said with an empty tone.

"That was nothing compared to Sector Seven," Lebreau also replied with the same empty tone as Tifa.

"I grew up in the slums," Aerith said with a shrug and light smile "Don't focus on the bad stuff. Enjoy happiness as much as you can whenever it comes around. Like now," Aerith stretched and rolled onto her stomach, pushing Tifa off the beach blanket.

"Hey! Now I got sand sticking to me!" Tifa laughed, referring more towards the suntan lotion she had on.

"So go rinse off. I know the guys would love to see that," Lebreau stated with a smirk. Tifa gave her a playful glare before standing up and heading for the water.

Serah just observed them with an innocent smile but confusion running through her head. Those three had experienced probably the worst life could throw at them, yet they acted like they were simply on vacation. It was proof enough to Serah that if one wanted to be happy, all they had to do was take advantage of what they had. It was that moment that spawned the idea that maybe, just maybe, Serah was on the wrong side.

**Meanwhile...**

After killing the towering monstrosity, the group of five had taken of sprinting towards the north. They knew that they would be all over the surveillance footage of the base but at least it would show that it was not they that butchered the PSICOM forces. Claire thought about taking a transport truck from the base, as had Sazh, Fang, and Vanille, but they did not want to risk being caught because of the GPS systems.

Once the sun was fully below the horizon, and no trace of it was in the sky, the group stopped. Claire was relieved to once again have the cover of night upon them as they slipped back into a decently large cavern. A part of the pink haired soldier's mind wondered where Serah was and she was instantly overtaken by a tidal wave of guilt and sorrow. She wished she knew where her little sister was so she could apologize, something about seeing Sephiroth brought up these feelings of deep regret and all she really wanted was to see Serah. Little did she know that at that moment, Serah was having fun on the beach of Costa del Sol.

"So, Sunshine," Fang started "Care to explain how you know the Shinra goon?" the tribeswoman asked as she walked up close to Claire, invading her personal space or attack range.

Before Claire could consciously react, Fang was on the ground. Her spear rattled and clanged as it bounced a few feet away and a minor pain started to spread through Claire's right hand, which she saw was now balled into a fist. Hope and Sazh looked towards the commotion and Vanille was at Fang's side in a moment. The blue clad woman pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbing and flexing her jaw, and looked up to Claire, an amused smile on her face and a fierce flame in her eyes. That was the first time Claire had ever seen a regular person take a punch from a SOLDIER.

"You pack one helluva right hook, ya know that?" Fang laughed, further astounding Claire that her jaw was still in place, let alone intact "Now mind telling me why you bruised my beautiful face?"

"Don't call Sephiroth a Shinra goon," Claire said back, her voice dripping with venom and her glare colder than ice.

"Fine," Fang said as she rolled eyes.

"So how do you know Sephiroth?" Hope asked, as he idly slung his pilfered assault rifle over his shoulder.

"I'm not part of the Guardian Corps," Claire stated.

"Tell us something we don't know," Sazh said back with a hint of amusement.

"I'm SOLDIER First Class, Lightning Farron. Sephiroth's student.

"What?" Fang, Vanille, Hope, and Sazh yelled in unison "I swear I remember seeing on the news that all the SOLDIER Firsts were dead," Sazh stated after.

"Officially we are. As far as I know, I'm supposed to be the last one," Claire's tone was official, devoid of emotion.

"So why are you in Cocoon?" Vanille asked as she tilted her head slightly.

"That's classified. And if you have a problem with traveling with me, you're free to leave," The others started to grab their belongings "Just remember though, PSICOM shot us down simply because I was on that shuttle, and now there is video evidence of you all helping me. Cocoon will not be merciful to you."

"So get killed by Cocoon or be your hostage?" Sazh asked.

"I can guarantee you all safety inside of Shinra's borders. But to get there-" Claire started to explain.

"We have to go through the Northern Continent," Hope explained, cutting off Claire.

"Great! We can stop by Oerba!" Vanille stated cheerfully, almost bouncing.

"Why would we stop there?" Claire asked. The look in Sazh's eyes told her he was thinking the same thing.

"Oerbans are like the folks in Cosmo Canyon," Fang said with a shrug.

"Neutral standing, live off the earth, and you study the stars?" Claire asked.

"Well we don't study the stars," Fang stated with a chuckle.

"Get some sleep, we set out early," Claire commanded "I'll take watch," She was glad SOLDIERs could easily go forty-eight hours without sleep, due to the enhancements.

"And how can we trust ya not to kill us in our sleep?" Fang asked, suspicion thick in her voice.

"I haven't killed you yet," Claire answered flatly as she walked away to set up a perimeter.

"Fair enough," Fang muttered with a shrug before laying down and trying to sleep.

* * *

The sword wielding soldier sat and watched the security video with intense focus, hoping to find out what slaughtered the dozens of elite soldiers stationed in the outpost. The only camera that had not failed to record anything, was the camera over the main gate, inside the wall. One moment everything is normal, alarms go off, panic erupts, the feed is lost and the screen is covered in static, then several minutes later, it shows a group of five leaving. One member of the group stood out to the soldier, the apparent leader of the five.

The long pink hair and uniform told the soldier that it was a female sergeant of the Guardian Corps. When she was closer to the camera, she happened to glance up for just a moment, startling the observing soldier. He quickly reversed and replayed a few seconds of the footage and paused it when the woman looked up. His breath caught and his heart thudded hard in his chest, he could not believe it and did not want to believe it.

"Lightning!" He whispered loudly to himself. Quickly, he reached up to his shoulder and activated his radio "Rygdea! I know where the group from the shuttle is heading!"

"Great! Meet you back at the shuttle," the officer with an accent said back.

The sword wielding flew out of the security office, out of the building, across the field covered in bodies, to the airfield. Rygdea was just starting the engines when his fellow soldier burst into the cockpit of the fighter and strapped himself in. The officer chuckled to himself at how excited the soldier looked, unknown to him because of the helmet, the soldier was wearing an expression of extreme confusion and worry.

**Sorry it took so long... I seem to be saying that on every chapter... But I am sorry. Writers block mostly, pressure to update other stories, and basic procrastination. There is also the tiny fact of I had no plans for this chapter, I was making it up as I wrote it. In fact, I have nothing planned until the Northern Cave... Well, maybe an event or two before that... So if you have an idea or request for something before then, feel free to PM it to me or put it in a review. I will warn you all now, expect erratic updates of varying lengths. Anyways, is it obvious yet as to who the unnamed Cavalry soldier is?**

**Please leave a Review. They make me happy and motivate me to update faster... They do, I swear, even if there is a lot of evidence against that.**


	22. Chapter 22

"_Why do you follow these humans?_"

"Don't have much of a choice. Lightning is holding us hostage."

"_Don't be afraid of her, she's as much a part of the family as you._"

"What family?"

"_You will see, my child._"

"Hope?" Vanille asked to get his attention, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? W-what?" Hope stuttered confusedly.

"We were talkin' about going into Nautilus, then you just zoned out," Sazh replied.

"Oh. Um... Could work to our advantage. Huge crowds, lots of noise, most likely a very small military presence, and I doubt they would expect us to even go near the theme park," Hope explained, his tone reflecting the fact that he was deeply analyzing the possible outcomes.

"You seem to have a talent for tactics," Claire commented "Unusual for an average university student."

"Just a talent," Hope shrugged. He would never even dream of admitting the truth to the others, especially not Claire. Besides, how else could he explain that he felt compelled to do certain things and his intelligent tactical choices felt as if they were being spoken to him.

"So it's settled," Fang said with a smile, her hands on her hips "We're gonna have a fun day."

The group made their way towards the city sized amusement park of Cocoon, careful to avoid using the main road to it. When they arrived at the main gate to the park, they were stopped by a local Guardian Corps Officer. A false explanation and a flash of the badge given to her by Shinra, Claire was able to get the group inside the city with their weapons. Almost immediately upon seeing a map of the park, Vanille was dragging Fang and Sazh off towards the petting zoo, where a large stable of chocobos was present, leaving Claire and Hope in an awkward silence.

They aimlessly wandered down the wide road lined with miscellaneous booths and carnival games. Claire made sure to keep Hope within her field of vision, even if it was just the edge. It came as no surprise to the pinkette that Hope continued to remind her so strongly of Sephiroth but she also constantly noted the drastic differences between the two silver haired men. His demeanor was far more relaxed and even his walk was more natural. Claire thought that if Sephiroth had not been a part of Shinra, Hope is exactly what he would have become.

"So what does Shinra want with me?" Hope asked, making Claire realize she did not notice him approach her.

"What do you mean?" Claire reply without emotion.

"Well you're a SOLDIER First and I'm the only one you won't let out of your sight," Hope had a very slight smirk on his face as he spoke "Oh, and please don't lie, you're not very good at it."

"What?" Claire asked, taken aback.

"You have a few little ticks that give you away, it's mostly your hands," Claire was stunned that he had discovered that. Only Sephiroth had ever known about her tells and had repeatedly tried to teach her how to hide them.

"You were born from the Sanctum's own Jenova Project S. You are basically Sephiroth's brother," Hope dropped his gaze to the ground and brought his hand up to his mouth in a sign of deep thought. He started walking away from Claire, slowly making his way further up the road.

"How does that work?" Hope finally asked after several minutes.

"What?"

"How can I be Sephiroth's brother if I was born thousands of miles away and from different parents? And wouldn't the Sanctum have had eyes on me my whole life?"

"I don't know how the Jenova Project works and it's more than likely they had been watching you, which is why they were all over us when we left Palumpolum."

"That makes sense."

The duo continued aimlessly wandering down the road in silence, Hope mulling over the facts, Claire keeping Hope in sight and scanning the area for any suspicious activity. When they stopped to take a rest, Hope bought a bottle of water for them both. Claire asked why he would act with such kindness to her and Hope gave a simple reply of pointing out she had not done anything bad to him yet.

"So Shinra have any places like this?" Hope asked after they had sat in silence for several minutes.

"The Gold Saucer."

"Oh. What do they have there?"

"No idea, never been there," Hope sigh in defeat at Claire's words.

"Any family?" Claire remained silent for a long moment, breaking eye contact with Hope, making him curious.

"A sister. She's with Avalanche," She answered calmly, Hope didn't make any comments and Claire was thankful for that.

"Light!" They both heard Fang shout. Following the sound, Claire and Hope saw the blue wearing woman with Vanille and Sazh on her heels. Instinct told Claire she was about to hear some very bad news.

"What is it?" Claire asked calmly.

"PSICOM is swarming in from all sides," Sazh told her.

"How do you know that?" Hope asked as he stood up, disbelieving they had been able to scout all the park's entrances.

"We heard one guy talking about other groups in all directions," Vanille spoke up.

"So we're trapped," Claire spat "Wonderful," she remembered Angeal and Genesis talking about how SOLDIER's always end up in the worst situations, somehow. She was starting to believe in the SOLDIER First Class curse.

"Maybe not," Sazh said thoughtfully while pointing upwards "That's a Cavalry ship," The group followed Sazh's gaze, and finger, and in unison spotted the small gunship with blue decals descending relatively nearby.

"Isn't that convenient," Hope mused before the group started moving towards the landing area.

The group of five moved at a casual pace as to not draw attention from the oblivious local Guardian Corps soldiers. As they passed by a map of the city, Claire gave it a quick look over and saw that they were still a lengthy distance away from the landing area and the Cavalry ship had undoubtedly long since touched down. As they passed through the gate of a large castle themed area of the amusement park Vanille turned to look at the signs over the gate and noticed the large doors starting to close.

"Uh, guys?" Vanille said loud enough to get the attention of the others in the group. The other four turned and saw the gate closing and a large squad of PSICOM troops making their way through the crowd.

"Run!" Claire barked at the others, she hated having to run from PSICOM of all things but she was not about to risk having her target injured or even killed.

Without question, the five started to sprint away from the squad of PSICOM troops, the action immediately had them identified by the PSICOM squad, which was in pursuit a moment after calling it in. Weaving through the crowd was easy enough for the group of five fugitives but it was making them stand out far too much. Mid stride, Claire pulled one of Sazh's pistols free and fired three shots into the ground and as expected, panic exploded through the crowd. The civilians started to run every direction, yelling, screaming, and ultimately, concealing the five's movements. Using the panicked crowd as cover, the five continued towards the eastern gate, to get to the landing area, but saw that the gate was sliding closed and just made it through.

When the gate slammed closed behind them, they heard several guns being cocked and were treated to the unpleasant surprise of a thirty-two member firing squad. Claire knew she could escape the situation but was unsure as to what kind of abilities Hope possessed. Even though he is supposed to be identical to Sephiroth, Claire had yet to see if similarities went beyond appearance. As for the other three in the group, Lightning did not particularly care one way or the other.

"Surrender and you won't be hurt!" One PSICOM soldier shouted to the group.

Seeing the perfect opportunity, Claire dropped her weapon and took four steps forwards, her hands slightly in front of her in a sign of forfeit. Sazh and Fang followed suit and surrendered their weapons as well, intuition telling them the pink haired SOLDIER operative had a plan. Most of the PSICOM troops lowered their weapons and moved up to arrest the group and once Claire and the others were surrounded, she acted.

A lightning fast punch delivered from Claire to the throat of the soldier in front of her set her plan in motion. She grabbed two other soldiers and threw them into the groups that still had their guns ready, causing them all to be knocked down in the confusion. With a swift spin kick, her hair trailing behind her as a silky pink streamer, Claire launched another soldier several feet away, his ribs had shattered when Claire's boot contacted them. A soldier rushed Claire as she recovered from her spin kick. Almost losing her balance, she grabbed his shoulders, flipped over him, and used her momentum to throw him at one of the groups of gunners that had recovered. Looking to the other group of gunners, that were just beginning to retrain their guns on the group of fugitives, the world went into slow-motion for the pinkette.

She cartwheeled over her weapon, picking it up midway, and placed one shot into each soldier, most shots being fatal. Just as she was taking aim at the other group of soldiers that had stayed back, flames erupted from the ground knocking them all up and away from that position. Claire looked to her group for an answer and for the first time, saw the green materia orbs in Fang's spear.

With the PSICOM soldiers dead, injured, or fleeing, the fugitive group continued running towards the landing area. Upon reaching the other gate of the area, they saw that it was actually a drawbridge, to fit with the castle theme of the area. Claire hit the lever to lower the bridge and after waiting several moments, shot the chains holding the bridge. It crashed down and very nearly shattered, the bridge and the ground where it landed. Quickly and carefully crossing the now extremely structurally unstable drawbridge, they encountered more PSICOM soldiers and machines.

The seemingly endless fighting was starting to weigh heavily on Fang and Claire. Their arms and legs ached, their minds were fatigued, their lungs and hearts were begging for a moments rest, but the adrenaline flowing through their veins refused to let them slow. Unsurprisingly, there was another large group of PSICOM soldiers but it had one additional member. A tall soldier with white and blue armor, a long sword on his back, and just like the other soldiers, a helmet hid his face.

"Surrender and you won't be harmed," the tall blue and white armor wearing soldier said, his voice was young, deadly serious, and warped by the helmet but Claire could not help but think it sounded vaguely familiar.

"Never!" Fang shouted, a high amount of rage and amusement in her voice. The two dozen guns pointed at them cocked in unison.

"Don't be stupid. I'm giving you the option to leave here alive, I suggest you take that into consideration. Now drop your weapons," the tall soldier commanded. Claire and the others hesitantly and unwillingly complied but Claire had a plan "At ease," he said to the other soldiers and they stood calmly, their guns pointed to the ground but ready to fire at a moments notice. The tall soldier walked forward and started to cuff each of the group with their hands behind their backs "Men,"

"Sir!" The soldiers reply in unison.

"Dismissed, report back to Commander Rosch," Claire almost laughed at how easy the tall soldier was making it for her. He collected their weapons and ordered the group of fugitives to start walking. He guided them into the service tunnels of Nautilus and made sure to seal the entrance behind them. With his back turned, Claire struck.

She jumped, pulled her knees up to her chest and slipped her hands under her feet, bringing them back in front of her, and landed without a sound. Claire swung her arms over the soldier's head, aiming to strangle him with her cuffs but he swiftly ducked out of the way. Performing a spin kick in hopes of knocking him out, Claire hit nothing but air as the soldier had already maneuvered behind her. Lacing her fingers together, Claire swung her arms once again in hopes of knocking him out but her hands slammed into a pipe, denting and almost breaking it. Launching several more kicks, the soldier deftly dodged back out of the way. He was starting to greatly annoy Claire as he was far too fast to be a regular soldier for Cocoon but would not attack back, even when Claire baited him with a false opening. He was toying with her, he was under the illusion he was better than Claire and she knew only one fighter was better than her and that was her mentor. She her relentless assault for a moment to analyze the soldier. He stood with his hands on his hips and waited for her.

"Finished?" he asked after waiting a few seconds. His tone was far less serious than before and it made him even more familiar to Claire but she still did not entirely recognize the voice. He reached up, grabbed the helmet and pulled it off, making Claire's breath hitch in her throat.

"Zack?" Claire whispered, unable to draw enough air to say it louder.

"The one and only," Zack said with his trademark smile.

"Hey, back up love birds," Fang said loudly, making Claire glare at her "You two know each other?"

"Former First Class SOLDIER Operative, current Cavalry Lieutenant, Zack Fair," Zack formally introduced himself "Sorry about the cuffs and the show but it was the only way to keep Rosch's men from mulching you."

"You're from SOLDIER too?" Sazh asked "How are you a Lieutenant for the Cavalry?"

"Long story," Zack chuckled "What's important is, I'm getting you out of this city. Sadly, it's not on an airship."

"What about that Cavalry one in the landing area?" Hope asked as Zack started removing the handcuffs.

"Long story short, the entire Cavalry and PSICOM Commander Nabaat is on our side but they can't outright help us yet," Zack explained.

"What!? Really!?" Sazh shouted from surprise.

"Yes, but most of PSICOM, including Rosch, is loyal to the Sanctum, not Nabaat. Anyways, the best Raines or Nabaat can do right now is mislead the Sanctum about our location. So, lets get out of Nautilus," Zack dropped his helmet behind a large crate then turned and started running down the corridor, the others on his tail.

It took Claire several seconds to start running after them because she was still stunned to see Zack was alive, She had been told that she was the last living First Class SOLDIER, it made her wonder what else Shinra had lied about. As she started running to catch up, pain, anger, and sadness suddenly welled up in her. A part of her mind knew it had something to do with Zack but she had no memory of what was causing the feelings. It was strange to say the least and completely out of place so Claire shoved the feelings out of her mind and ignored whatever missing memory was trying to make itself known.

**Yes, it's short. Yes, it's not the greatest, but the only thing I knew while writing this was Zack joins Lightning's group. The Serah part of this chapter would have been at the Gold Saucer but I decided to outright skip the events of the Gold Saucer because I have no ideas for how to make it different from what happens in FF7.**

**Like I said last chapter, I have almost no ideas for between now and the Northern Cave, exceptions being Oerba, Nibelheim, and The Forgotten City.**

**Please leave a Review.**


	23. Chapter 23

**This chapter isn't very long but I felt like I had to give you something after I went and reread all the wonderful reviews from my wonderful readers. I want to extend a special thanks to the reviewer I only know as i so thanks for being there every step of the way and pestering me to update. (I said this now because I don't want to ruin the mood at the end of the chapter)**

"Face it, Snow, you're lost," The blue haired, Assault Rifle wielding, young man said to the large blond man leading the group.

"I am not!" Snow jokingly yelled back "This is the... uh... Scenic route?"

"Some scenic route, the others are probably already at Cosmo Canyon," the dark haired woman, and former-cafe owner, in the group sarcastically remarked.

"I'm thinking Lebreau should be the leader. At least she knows which way is north," Maqui stated. Serah laughed at the banter in the group.

After leaving the Gold Saucer, NORA and AVALANCHE had regrouped at the small village of Gongaga. Upon arriving in the Reactor village, they found only ruins and acres of fallen trees, likely from the explosion that had turned the Mako Reactor to a pile of broken, twisted, and blackened steel. After agreeing upon moving onto Cosmo Canyon, the groups left and went in different directions, AVALANCHE decided to try their luck on crossing through the mountains and NORA decided to try the forest. Unfortunately, the NORA half of the Shinra fugitive group had been lost in the forest west of Gongaga for a few hours now. Their leader, Snow, was fully aware of that fact and was perfectly willing to make jokes at himself.

Staying near the back of the group, Serah had tried to send a message to Tseng but her specially designed phone was not receiving a signal. After seeing the town of Corel around the base of the Gold Saucer and what remained of Gongaga, she was not entirely sure she wanted to update Tseng on where they were. Seeing what had become of Zack's hometown, and how all Shinra had done to help them was clean up the explosion site, Serah began having difficulty believing Shinra was improving the lives of those that lived in far off areas.

"Hey, Serah?" Yuj, the blue haired member of NORA, asked the pinkette "Where's your weapon?"

"What?" Serah asked in return, reaching back to grab the specially designed weapon only to find out that it was missing "W-where is it?" Serah spun around and started scanning the ground behind her.

"Wha's the matter?" Gadot asked, almost panicked and seeming to have appeared out of thin air next to Yuj.

"My weapon is-" Serah began to explain but was interrupted by a loud-

"Sonuva bitch!" a young feminine voice shouted in pain from nearby.

Team NORA tore through bushes and large plants to lend assistance to the pained voice and were surprised by what they found. A teenage girl, no older than eighteen, wearing a green turtleneck vest that exposed her midriff, white short-shorts, orange runners, high socks, a steel pauldron and an arm guard on her left arm. Her dark hair and rapid cursing in another language told the NORA group the young girl was from Wutai.

"You're from Wutai," Serah blurted out but she couldn't help it. Wutaian people were not a common sight in Shinra lands, the only other person of that heritage Serah had interacted with was Tseng.

"And you seem to have eyeballs," the girl snapped back at Serah. The group collectively just noticed Serah's weapon laying in front of the girl and the fact that the girl was cradling her right hand.

"What happened to your hand?" Lebreau asked in her sweet and friendly tone, the one she usually used on her more unruly customers back in Midgar. The girl looked at each member of the group, the weapons they held, and the weapon on the ground before answering.

"I found that thing," she nodded towards Serah's Turk weapon "Just, you know, laying there on the ground, so I picked it up, played with it a bit, then the damn thing shocked me!"

"Just laying there?" Yuj asked, obviously suspicious of the girl.

"I'm glad you found it," Serah said cheerfully as she grabbed her weapon "I hope you're okay though, do you need anything for your hand?" she made a move to help the raven haired girl but she moved away from Serah slightly and eye the outstretched hand as if it were a snake. Then inexplicably, the girl smiled and got to her feet, and sauntered over to a bush and pulled out a massive four pointed shuriken.

"So who're you guys?" the girl asked loudly.

"Team NORA," Snow announced "I'm Snow, that's Gadot, Maqui, Lebreau, Yuj, and Serah," he listed, pointing to each person respectively "And you are?" Snow put on his best smile as he asked.

"Yuffie Kisaragi! Master Ninja of Wutai!" the raven haired girl announced proudly.

"You know the way to Cosmo Canyon?" Gadot suddenly asked, making Yuffie look at him with an irritated look.

"Of course I do!" she nearly shouted at the large man "What kind of ninja would I be if I got lost at every corner?"

"Good, our fearless leader got us lost," Gadot replied with a playful punch to Snow's shoulder, the blond just let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"We'll pay you if you show us the way," Lebreau spoke up to the young ninja.

"Really?" Yuffie said slowly, as if skeptical but liking the sound of the deal "Okay! Just follow me and I'll get ya where you want to go!"

The next moment, Yuffie shot off at a full sprint and quickly vanished into the thick vegetation of the forest. Team NORA ran as fast as they could to catch up to the ninja but soon realized that she had vanished. But before Gadot could start throwing curses into the air about the girl, she dropped from a tree near them, gave them an amused smile then lead them at a more relaxed pace. As they walked, Serah examined Yuffie.

She had no idea how old the ninja actually was but that was unimportant. The girl did not have a sway in her hips as she walked, she barely moved as she walked over, around, and between the sticks on the ground. Yuffie almost glided through the brush and twigs, compared to the rest of team NORA and most likely on her own, she did not make a sound as she went. The young Wutaian also had a firm grip on her weapon and the way she had it resting on her shoulder was an obvious ready position to the trained eye.

The pink haired Turk was unsure what to think about the young ninja. She could not determine Yuffie's aura or personality and that unnerved Serah. What was more worrisome was Yuffie's obvious allegiance to Wutai which made it impossible to estimate what she may do in the future.

* * *

_Her steps echoed through the abyss as if she were walking down a cobblestone street. No light had any chance of penetrating this darkness. It was pure, unnatural, impossible. Claire's feet continued to move forward even though she was commanding them to stop, turn around, and run away. Trembling with fear, Claire walked further into the darkness, striding until her foot landed on something which snapped loudly under her weight._

"_Don't be afraid," A gentle feminine voice echoed. Claire looked down and saw a skeleton, glowing white in contrast to the abyss._

_Claire wanted to scream and run, but skeletons did not scare her. She had seen many things much worse than bleached white bones but she wanted to know why they frightened her now. Something drifted across her gaze and she focused on it. A large black feather, much to big to be from any bird including chocobos. Claire watched the feather drift lazily to the ground and turn into mist the moment it touched the ground. The pink haired soldier looked back up and was met with the sight of two glowing red eyes._

_The eyes held the same glow as any average SOLDIER member, but had an unnerving kindness. Kindness only present when it is being used to hide an ulterior motive. A hand slowly came out of the darkness, Claire assumed the hand belonged to the red eyes. The hand had flawless gray skin and nails painted black, it was palm up and open, as if asking Claire to take it. She started to reach out towards it, without telling her hand to do so and her eyes widened in fear._

"_Don't be afraid, Claire," the same feminine voice echoed "Reunion is upon us," Claire slowly placed her hand in the gray fleshed hand. _

_Something small grazed her leg making her snap her gaze downward. A black tendril was slowly wrapping itself around her right leg and coiling upwards. It was then Claire realized for the first time she was not wearing boots. Another tendril began reaching for her left leg, a third towards her hand that was joined with the gray hand, and one more was reaching towards her other hand._

_Even though Claire was absolutely terrified, wanting to scream, and every instinct was shouting at her to flee, she felt compelled to stay and her terror was slowly being silenced. An alien feeling of comfort and serenity invaded her senses as the tendrils worked their way along her limbs. Claire felt her eyes closing but snapped them back open and shouted at the darkness._

"_Shh, child. It will be alright," the feminine voice cooed "Find peace in the reunion."_

_A glowing white feather pierced the darkness as it fell in between Claire and the glowing crimson gaze. They both watched the feather fall silently and slowly. When it came to a rest on the cobbled ground, it shone multiple times brighter, to a retina searing level and a high pitched bestial eardrum shattering cry came from the darkness as the light obliterated the tendrils._

Her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly, fast enough to make her head ache from the sudden jarring movement for a few seconds. Claire's breath was shallow and rapid, her hair slick with a cold sweat, her cheeks were burning, and her stomach heaved threatening to expel its contents. With several deep controlled breaths forced into her lungs, Claire regained her composure and decided the campfire was both far too bright and hot. Deciding to take a walk, the pinkette started pushing herself to her feet.

Upon standing, however, she spotted the raven haired former SOLDIER sitting in the shadows past the edge of the firelight. For a reason unknown to her, she walked over and sat next to him. He smiled at her but she could easily see that the smile had miles to go before it reached his eyes. Without a word they both sat and watched the stars, keeping their ears trained on the area around them, and silently calculating how to start a conversation with the opposite SOLDIER.

"Been a while-" Zack started to say.

"I heard you-" Claire also started at the same time. They both chuckled awkwardly before Zack nodded at Claire to speak "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Four or five years, I think." Zack reply "I wonder what Aerith is doing now."

"Aerith?" Claire asked, the name was familiar to her but she had no face to attach it too.

"My girlfriend from my SOLDIER days."

"Oh, right. I vaguely remember you going on and on about her," Claire said with a hint of amusement.

"Yeah, Angeal always said I was always yapping just like-"

"Just like a puppy," Claire's tone turned very somber at the reminder of Angeal. She had known Angeal for as long as she had known Sephiroth, even admitted to having a crush on Angeal when she was younger, and dearly missed the man with a heart of gold.

"So you're still with Shinra?" Zack asked, mostly to keep himself out of memories about his mentor.

"Yes I am," Claire stated without hesitation, she was raised within the company and was not going to jump ship just because an old friend was on the other side but a thought quickly arose "They said you died."

"They also say Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth are dead. Angeal is the only one I know for a fact is dead," Zack's tone was both bitter and remorseful.

"Sephiroth's not dead," Claire reply simply.

"You sure?"

"He killed all those people at the PSICOM outpost."

"You saw him?" Zack's pattern of questions would normally be written off to increasing skepticism but his flat tone was impossible to decipher.

"Asked him what happened. All he said was Nibelheim," Claire's casual tone made it obvious to Zack that she did not remember what had happened at the village at the foot of the Nibel Moutains.

"You don't remember what happened there?" Zack stated more than asked "I only remember bits and pieces of that mission," It killed him to lie to Claire but he could not bear the thought of telling her that her adoptive father had flipped.

"I was comatose until recently after that. What happened to you?"

Zack took a deep breath before starting to explain the events between him waking up and ending up in a Cocoon military. He was mostly bracing himself for Claire's reaction to his decision to let Genesis live after their encounter in Banora. It had always been obvious to the other SOLDIER First's that there had been nothing but friction between Genesis and Claire, though no one really knew why, so Zack chose to leave out the Banora encouter. The pinkette surprised Zack by remaining silent during the entire telling of his story.

"Shinra sent a battalion of infantry?" She finally asked.

"Yep," Zack unzipped his top and showed his chest to Claire, she was presented with the sight of countless scars severely deforming Zack's torso "For once they did their job."

"How did you survive?" Claire could not keep the amazement out of her voice.

"I didn't. I was clinically dead for several minutes, from what I was told," He watched Claire's jaw rise and fall several times as he zipped his uniform "I was in the SOLDIER lounge with Angeal. We just talked about nothing important," Claire just grunted in response "It may have just been minutes but it felt like hours and then I just kind of snapped back. The doctors said that I'm not a vegetable because of the SOLDIER enhancements. Nothing short of a miracle."

"Why would Shinra want you dead though? You were a First like the rest of us."

"From what I was able to find, Hojo gave the order. Now let me ask you something, why the Cocoon folks?"

"The boy is supposedly Cocoon's Sephiroth. The older guy is a victim of circumstance, and the girls are my guides," Claire reply without hesitation.

"Cocoon's Sephiroth?" Zack looked over his shoulder at the sleeping quartet "Kid barely looks like he can fight. The again," he laughed softly "Angeal said the same thing about me when we met," Zack's gave lifted to the stars as he thought about his former mentor and friend. He had drifted so far into thought he almost did not notice Claire lean onto him and wrap her arms around his shoulders. On reflex, his arm found its way around her middle.

The two sat there for several minutes, not one word passing between them. In that silent time, Claire decided she was done with Shinra. She could ignore most, if not all, of the blatantly evil acts they comitted but letting Zack get gunned down by their soldiers was one step too far. Zack had been a major role model and morale booster in SOLDIER, even though there had been rumors of Zack's questionable loyalty after Angeal left. Claire decided she was going to find Serah and apologize for what she had done back in the Shinra building. The pink haired SOLDIER was going to find AVALANCHE and join their fight against Shinra and help the Cocoon rebels against the Sanctum.

"Zack?" Claire spoke up, not moving her arms him, making the raven haired warrior look down at her "I'm glad you're alive."

"Me too," Zack said with a chuckle, making Claire chuckle as well.

"I don't feel so alone anymore."

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